Yiwu in East China's Zhejiang province recently hosted a farewell ceremony for the Chinese military's new local recruits this autumn.

A total of 147 young Yiwu men, including 139 university students, have been drafted into the Chinese military. They will soon be dispatched to Guangdong, Fujian, and other localities across the country.

Lin Yi, Party chief of Yiwu, shook hands with the soldiers and gave a speech at the farewell ceremony.

In his speech, Lin emphasized Yiwu's strong culture of militarism and patriotism, as represented by Zong Ze (1060-1128), a respected Yiwu-born military general who heroically battled invaders during the late Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), and the Yiwu-born soldiers who constituted the bulk of Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) General Qi Jiguang (1528 - 1588)'s army that went down in history as the destroyers of invading Japanese pirates.

Lin called on the soldiers to maintain a strong sense of mission and demonstrate the Yiwu people's spirit in serving the nation.

Military recruits and government officials pose for a photo at the ceremony in Yiwu on Sept 14. [Photo/WeChat account: yiwufb]