BEIJING, Mar. 30 -- The setting out ceremony for troops of the Chinese PLA ground forces participating in the "Sayan Range March" Snowfield Combat and March Competition in Russia was held on the afternoon of March 29. This will be the first time for the Chinese military to compete in this event.

Participating troops come from a brigade under the PLA 78th Group Army. They will leave from the city of Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang Province, China, for Russia by military aircraft on April 2, and participate in the "Sayan Range March", an event within the framework of the International Army Games (IAG) 2021, from April 4 to 20.

The "Sayan Range March" is a team event, and the participants are required to carry out two phases of mountains march totaling 50 kilometers within two days, during which eleven courses, such as avalanche searches, team skiing and team shooting, need to be completed.

The ranking of each country will be determined according to competition results and the total number of scores.

This competition aims to test the combat readiness of the participating troops to perform tasks on the winter plateau.