On a wind‑bitten winter morning in Tieling, Liaoning, a retired soldier named Wang Yongjun waited at a bus stop and felt unexpectedly warm. A city bus emblazoned with a bright red “Support‑the‑Army” insignia arrived; when Wang showed his veteran’s card, the driver greeted him by name and welcomed him aboard. The simple ritual — a free ride, a respectful greeting, a slogan inside the carriage — left him moved and framed the vehicle as more than transport: a public act of recognition.
The service behind that moment is explicitly municipal policy. On July 29, 2025, Tieling launched its first “Support‑the‑Army” dedicated bus line, route 109, linking the city’s West Station and Railway Station with about 80 departures a day and stops at key nodes such as the municipal hospital and the transit company. Active servicemen, veterans and the so‑called “three categories” of dependents may ride free on presentation of appropriate ID. Local officials fast‑tracked the project — the deputy mayor responsible for veterans’ work led a cross‑agency task force that met repeatedly over two months to settle funding, routing, vehicle allocation and driver staffing so the line would open before Army Day (August 1).
The initiative combines practical service with visible symbolism. The vehicle’s exterior marking, interior signage reading “Respect the military, honor the contribution,” and drivers selected for political reliability and customer service signal a municipal commitment to honoring service. Drivers describe the role as carrying “honor” rather than merely steering a wheel, and the transit company says the city has established a fiscal guarantee to offset operating pressures. Officials frame the move as a social‑welfare choice where civic respect and political messaging outweigh immediate commercial returns.
Tieling is also using the launch to create a broader ecosystem of veteran support: the municipal veterans’ affairs bureau has named the transit company a model unit, while proposals to create “pro‑army” shopping districts and medical services are underway. For beneficiaries like retired soldier Li Fenglong, the small details in the carriage — reminders of service and welcome — provide a sense of communal recognition that formal benefits alone may not convey.
Beyond its local comforts, the bus line matters because it illustrates how municipal governments in China translate central priorities into everyday experiences. In recent years Beijing has emphasized civil‑military ties, veteran welfare and social stability; visible, low‑cost entitlements such as free transit are an expedient way for cities to demonstrate compliance with those priorities while boosting the local government’s image. The scheme is affordable as a one‑off service and highly visible, making it useful politically even as it imposes modest operational cost on the municipal transit operator.
The policy raises larger questions. Replicability depends on local fiscal capacity and political will: wealthier or more politically sensitive jurisdictions are likelier to adopt such measures, while poorer localities may struggle to fund them. There is also a risk that public gestures will outpace delivery of deeper veteran needs — employment, healthcare, and long‑term rehabilitation — turning respect into ritual without resolving substantive issues. Still, as a piece of municipal statecraft, Tieling’s “Support‑the‑Army” bus neatly demonstrates how symbolic politics and service provision can be combined to reinforce social cohesion and the party’s relationship with former soldiers.