Wei Zhongcheng. [Photo by Huo Yan / China Daily]

 "They not only took part in the parade, but also went to look for a piece of 'home' in the parade," he said. "That sunny Beijing held tens of thousands of parade soldiers, but I'm not sure whether it could hold one old soldier's war memories.

"The war is over for us, but their battle with their memories has never ended."

The elderly men spent much of their journey sitting straight upright, silently looking at the scenery through the train windows. Occasionally, they would look down at the white stitching on their uniform.

It's difficult for a reporter to see into the hearts of these veterans, Rong added. "There is just no space left for people irrelevant to the war."

Zhang Li contributed to this story.