Shanghai Jiaotong University (SJTU) provided Red Army meal rations for over 4,000 students during a recent military training event held on campus, which turned out to be rather popular with the students.

In China, military training is held annually for all first-year college students in order to promote students' will power and sense of national pride.

An executive officer for the military training at SJTU said that providing the meals was intended to commemorate the 95th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party and the 80th anniversary of the Long March. Additionally, the meals are nutritious and filling, which is a necessity for the students while they are training. The meals also help students to feel the spirit of the Long March in contemporary society, according to the officer.

The Red Army meals contain food such as pumpkin soup, steamed sweet potatoes and taro. The cups and bowls also feature slogans like, "Serve the people whole-heartedly!" and, "The Red Army never feared the difficulties of the Long March."

The meals were anticipated with excitement not only by the first-year students participating in military training, but also by other students and staff on campus. Students willingly stood in a long queue just to try such a meal.