What are the medals China awarded for CPV veterans?

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China on Thursday unveiled a memorial medal to award Chinese People's Volunteers (CPV) army veterans who fought in the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea (1950-1953), as China marks the 70th anniversary of the CPV army entering the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in the war.

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The medals were presented to living veterans and other personnel in the name of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, the State Council, and the Central Military Commission.

Bearing the image of a CPV soldier and featuring various elements including a dove and five-pointed stars, the medal symbolizes the fact that the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea is a war of justice to safeguard peace and resist aggression, and the fact that the great spirit demonstrated in the war will always be an invaluable wealth of the Chinese people.

The medal also demonstrates China's firm determination and confidence in defying its enemies, safeguarding world peace, and building a community with a shared future for mankind.

In the war times, various departments and organizations issued numerous kinds of medals to honor the CPV soldiers, and below are some of them.

Wartime memories

Only eight months after the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Korean War broke out in June 1950, which soon reached the Yalu River that borders China and wreaked havoc in Dandong, formerly called Andong.

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On October 19, 1950, as requested by the DPRK, CPV forces crossed the Yalu River to aid the DPRK's fight there until a truce was signed in 1953.

A total of 2.9 million CPV soldiers entered the battlefield, and 197,653 of them sacrificed their lives in the war.

Although decades have passed since the war, the Chinese volunteer soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice are not forgotten, as the nation holds commemorations every year.