PLA Logistics Base Uses Historical Artifacts to Drive Political Training

Units under the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Zhengzhou Joint Logistics Support Center in the Dabie Mountains are using historical artifacts—including decades-old repair tools, heavily patched footwear, and archival logs—to anchor political education for younger service members. According to Chinese military media reports, the two-year initiative seeks to connect modern, well-equipped logistics personnel with the austere founding ethos of early mountain depot construction, framing historical frugality as an essential foundation for contemporary combat readiness.

The initiative illustrates how grassroots PLA commands utilize material history to address ideological shifts among younger personnel, aiming to preserve operational discipline, frugal resource management, and resilience in austere operating environments.

Grassroots units assigned to a Zhengzhou Joint Logistics Support Center base in the Dabie Mountains are deploying historical relics to reinforce political education and operational discipline among younger personnel, according to reports from People's Daily and China Military Online. Over the past two years, the mountain base has conducted an initiative to retrieve and display historical items associated with the base's early construction. Decades ago, predecessor units were tasked with excavating deep mountain storage caverns under severe material shortages, operating without established roads, continuous electricity, or mechanized support. Base leadership is now utilizing the physical tools and personal items preserved from that era as visual centerpieces for political training on "building the military through diligence and frugality." Among the featured exhibits is a heavily welded open-end wrench, recently saved from disposal by a senior NCO during a warehouse cleaning. The tool had been repeatedly repaired and used over decades of early facility construction. Other curated items include a 60-year-old storm lantern used during blackout cave inspections, a pair of multi-layered patched rubber shoes kept to commemorate an eight-month manual road-carving campaign through rocky terrain, and a 1989 handwritten depot management diary detailing resource-saving regulations, such as building spare-parts reserves from decommissioned hardware. According to unit political officers, displaying these artifacts in barracks showcases and company honor rooms allows newer recruits to compare modern, well-resourced logistics facilities with the austere conditions endured by previous generations. Political leadership emphasized that modern support capabilities derive from past perseverance, arguing that tangible relics provide a more effective educational tool than rigid lecturing to foster dedication and readiness for arduous defense tasks.