Female border soldiers in live fire training in snow

Editor's note:Chinese female soldiers used to only be deployed in big cities with stable conditions, but as military sector reform deepens, more and more female soldiers are finding their assignments change from "peacekeeping" to "combat," and some of them have been assigned positions at checkpoints along the country's border.

The 30 soldiers pictured here, members of the post-1990s generation that is China's rough equivalent of the Millennials or Generation Y, are the first female soldiers to join border troops in China's Heilongjiang Province. They practiced military drills in negative 10 degrees Celsius (14 F) on the country's northeastern frontier.

"Though we are not as physically strong as our male counterparts, we are not at all short of enthusiasm for protecting the border and the country," they said.

The 30 soldiers prepare for their first live fire training exercise. [Photo/China.org.cn]