A college student’s military dream

A student in Peking University, a leading singer in student choir and a member of the PLA Navy Marine Corps  these accomplishments define Song Xi, a woman born in the 1990s.

Growing up in a military family in Changzhi, North China's Shanxi province, she wanted to join the army since she was young. After the college entrance exam, she wanted to apply for a military academy. Her mother thought it would be too hard for a girl and wanted her to go to an ordinary college. In 2012, Song was enrolled into Peking University, studying psychology.

But the dream of being a soldier was still on Song's mind.

She was active in her college life. She made the top 10 in a campus singing contest. In 2014, Peking University Student Choir won two gold medals in the eighth World Choir Games, with Song as the lead. She also liked drama and sports.

In her first and second years in college, the navy came to recruit new soldiers. She wanted to enlist, but was talked out of it by her parents and teachers. They said she was too young to take care of herself and she could serve the country after she obtained a degree.