Yao Jiuwei, a marine of the People's Liberation Army Navy, recalled that the first time he considered joining the military was on Sept 3, 2015.

"I was running on a treadmill at my university — Harbin Sport University in Heilongjiang province — and was watching a live broadcast of the grand parade in Beijing that marked the 70th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. It impressed me deeply and made me truly want to become a soldier. So, after my graduation in 2017, I chose to enlist and was sent to the PLA Navy's Marine Corps.

"In 2019, at our camp, I watched on TV the Oct 1 parade celebrating the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, and I felt envious of those taking part in the National Day parade, wondering when I could participate in a parade someday. Now, I am here, training for the coming parade. It feels like my dream is coming true," he told China Daily in a recent interview at a military compound on the northwestern outskirts of Beijing.

Yao, now an officer of the PLA Navy's Marine Corps, was selected several months ago as one of two members from his company to participate in the parade on Sept 3, which marks the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) and the World Anti-Fascist War. The event will be the country's 19th military parade since the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949 and the second V-Day parade.