ThePLA Hong Kong Garrison Honour Guard Battalion (Chinese:中國人民解放軍駐香港部隊儀仗隊) is the ceremonial unit for thePeople's Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison based in theHong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). It consists of 210 soldiers from thePeople's Liberation Army Ground Force,Air Force andNavy who are based atStonecutters Island. It providedpublic duties for all events of a ceremonial nature on behalf of the PLA during events of regional importance in the HKSAR. It was formed in 1994 as a result of the impendingtransfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong.[1] At the time of its founding, it was composed of some members of thePLA Honour Guard inBeijing. It began to recruit female soldiers in February 2016. Unlike the unit in the capital, the Hong Kong unit is not a purely ceremonial unit as it is also capable of becomingactive duty infantry when needed.[2] A requirement for membership in the unit is being at least 182 cm (6 ft 0 in). It is attached directly to the PLAHK Garrison through theInfantryGarrisonBrigade.
Its holiday activities cover:
It provides the guard of honour for all open days conducted by the PLAHK Garrison, taking part in everymilitary parade in Hong Kong since the PLA Day Parade 2004, and was most recently featured at the 2017 Establishment Day parade atShek Kong Airfield.[5][6] On 23 September 2019, ahead of the70th anniversary of the People's Republic of China, the color guard raised the national flag atPui Kiu Middle School during a morning assembly.[7][8] It also has taken part inmilitary tattoos such as the International Military Tattoo in Hong Kong.[9] In February 2021, ten soldiers from the battalion began training members of theHong Kong Police Force in Chinese-stylegoose stepping in preparation for the handover parade on 1 July 2022 in honor of the 25th anniversary celebrations of thehandover of Hong Kong.[10]
Like most PLA ceremonial units, its uniform for public functions is theType 07 uniform.[11] Thecolor guard utilizes theQBZ-95-1 while on parade while the rest of the unit uses the Type 56 Ceremonial Rifle.[12]