Welcome to China

Protocol reforms for greeting foreign leaders since the new leadership took office

1. Female honor guards

A guard of honor including women made its debut on Monday as President Xi Jinping hosted a welcoming ceremony for Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov. Members were recruited in February by the Beijing Military Area Command. Some 90 percent of them have been educated to junior college degree level or above and their average height is 1.72 meters. According to military officials, female guards of honor should be about the same height and must undergo rigid training.