54th Mechanized Brigade, Tibet MD, Chengdu Military Region

These troops look after the security of Tibet.

Chinese PLA Xinjiang Military Region elite military special operations forces training

PLA Women's 14th Army combat units 86A

PLA looks to increase number of female missile operators

After China incorporated the first female DF-15 ballistic missile company in the People's Liberation Army's main missile brigade, the Second Artillery Corps — the strategic missile force of the People's Liberation Army — will look to recruit more women into the fold, reports the Washington-based Strategy Page on Apr. 25.The female company has been included into the First Conventional Missile Brigade of the Second Artillery Force. Originally, it was only a provisional unit, but the Central Military Committee of the Communist Party of China decided to make it a regular unit earlier this month as it has become harder for the military to find male soldiers qualified for the job, according to Strategy Page.

Released military photos have also shown multiple female launch crews for mobile DF-21 missiles. Currently, about 8% of China's military are female while women account for 15% of the US military.Female recruits have performed well in technical jobs and about 12% of the crew on American warships are now female, said Strategy Page, adding that China is increasing the number of women serving on warship and is seeing success.China's Second Artillery Corps controls most of the country's nuclear missiles as well as some missiles equipped with conventional warheads

Chinese PLA Strategic missile test

Chinese PLA military exercises in Tibet March 2014

Chinese PLA - Tacheng military unit near the border with Kazakhistan and Pakistan undergoes simulation training

China's military expenditure 1999-2013

Here is a chart showing China's military expenditure vs treasury income vs GDP from 1999 to 2013.

Over this period, the military expenditure has generally been between 1.2% to 1.5% of the GDP and 9.5% to 5.5% of the treasury income. so in real RMB terms, military expenditure has not gone up as a percentage of GDP. In comparison to the treasury income, military expenditure has decreased a lot due to improved tax collection in China.

The question is why the military expenditure has remained steady when the reported year to year increased is greater than GDP growth. The answer seems to be that GDP is inflation adjusted whereas military expenditure is not. There are 3 other charts similar to this which shows military expenditures going back to 1950. Seems like China maintained higher military expenditure % (4.5% to 9%) up until when Deng Xiaoping took over in 1978. After which, PLA saw its spending vs GDP drop all the way to 1% in the mid 90s. Now, China's definition of military expenditure can be different from that of the west, so there is no reason to compare China to Japan or US here. 

Chinese PLA test-fired new Dongfeng 41 DF-41 ICBM InterContinental Ballistic Missile

Last week Chinese army carried out its second test-launch of its new InterContinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) Dongfeng 41 (DF-41), which could have the ability to fire multiple warheads. The missile was fired Friday, December 13, 2013, from the Wuzhai rocket-firing complex in Shanxi province.

The Dongfeng 41 long-range missile is thought to have a top flight distance of between roughly 10,900 km and 12,000 km, and to be designed to carry multiple independently targetable nuclear warheads.A recent annual report to U.S. Congress on China's military capabilities did not include mention of the road-mobile ICBM, though previous versions of the study detailed at some length the status of the weapon's development.

The Dongfeng-4 is a Chinese-made nuclear solid-fueled road-mobile intercontinental ballistic missile. The DF-41 ICBM is the latest in a long line of Dongfeng missiles. According to military analysts, it's been in development since the 1980s and has a top speed of up to Mach 25. Directed by an Inertial guidance system, it can be launched from a range of platforms, it's around 15 metres long and weighs an estimated 30,000 kg.This would make the DF-41 the world's longest ranged missile, surpassing the range of the US LGM-30 Minuteman which has a reported range of 13,000 km.

The DF-41 was reported to have had its first flight test on July 24, 2012.

New Chinese light tank enroute to Tibet

Bridges such as these carrying railway carriages in the above picture are found on Tibetan Plateau

China PLAN aircraft carrier operations