A group of United Nations peacekeepers perform a ceremony in China before embarking on a trip to South Sudan. [Shi Liguo/ China Daily]

As the nation celebrated Army Day on Aug 1, two United Nations peacekeepers from Nantong, Jiangsu province, made headlines for their tireless service.

Ge Yangnan, 24, has been on a one-year peacekeeping deployment in Monrovia, Liberia, since March. Zhang Chengcheng, 26, has been a UN peacekeeper in South Sudan since 2013.

In 2011, Ge joined the People's Liberation Army, showing excellent academic and military performances. In 2012, he received the PLA's "Excellent Soldier" award.

In July of last year, when the Chinese People's Armed Police Force held a recruiting drive in Jiangsu province to form a group of peacekeepers, Ge sent his application.

After a battery of tests, he stood out among approximately 1,000 candidates to become a UN peacekeeper.

Ge said he adjusted to Liberia’s climate, culture and food soon after arriving. Every day, he lugged equipment that weighed nearly 25 kilograms on his back for an eight-hour patrol.

Zhang Chengcheng, who joined the PLA in 2007 and is more experienced than Ge, went back to Nantong in late July and gave a speech to candidates for the summer army recruitment in the city's Gangzha district. He said during his nine months in South Sudan, every time he saw the Chinese national flag, he felt proud of being a Nantong native in the UN peacekeeping force.

"I have harbored this dream of becoming a soldier since I was a child," he said.

After graduation from high school, Zhang has realized his dream but soon felt disappointed and confused by the tough and mundane life in the army.

He was also not doing well in physical fitness tests although he went through his early years with tenacity.

Zhang's efforts paid off at the end of the training for new soldiers. He was top among his peers in a range of tests and was recognized as a role model for new soldiers.

Following the deadly earthquake in Wenchuan, Sichuan province, in 2008, Zhang and his comrades went to the ravaged town of Bailu in the capital Chengdu three days after the quake. They went directly to the disaster scene, which was only accessible by walking.

Zhang and his comrades walked for four hours, climbing hills along the way, until they reached the destroyed village. There, it took nearly 10 hours to help villagers move to a safe place before mudflows overtook the village. Zhang called it one of his major missions.

In July 2013, Zhang started another major peacekeeping mission in South Sudan.

With the UN peacekeeping force, Zhang and his colleagues were based in Wau, a city in northwestern South Sudan. For many years, there has been no electricity or tap water in the wartorn city.

Zhang and his partners were assigned to guard construction and water allocation sites. Every day, they drove through the dangerous area.

After nine months of surviving the harsh conditions, Zhang said he has moved one step close to his dream of being an exceptional soldier.

By Fu Chao, Wang Quanli and Gong Dan