BEIJING, Apr. 1 -- The Chinese PLA Army's team participating in the "Sayan Range March" snowfield combat and march competition of the International Army Games (IAG) set out for Russia by a Y-20 transport aircraft from an airport of the PLA Air Force on March 31.
This year, teams from Russia, China, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan will participate in this competition. As scheduled, the "Sayan Range March" competition will be held at a training center in Russia in early April. The competition will be divided into two stages and last for two days and one night.
During the event, each team member will carry an average weight of 35 kilograms, complete 12 items such as avalanche search and rescue, team skiing, and team shooting under severe cold conditions, and march more than 50 kilometers in the snowfield. The final score will be calculated based on the time spent and penalty points.
The Chinese participating team, consisting of 23 personnel selected from a brigade of the PLA 78th Group Army, is divided into two groups of men and women. This is the first time for a Chinese female group to participate in this event.
The head of the Chinese participating team said that in accordance with the rules of the competition, the Chinese team members have systematically studied the standard operating procedures of multinational forces and conducted targeted training, in a bid to lay a solid foundation for their participation in the competition.