Privates on parade! Young men forced to strip off for drill routines during annual army recruitment drive in China

Naked body tests are reportedly standard part of the recruitment procedure

Conscription period brought forward two months to pull in clever graduates







China has launched its annual military recruitment drive this month with thousands of young men across the country taking part in compulsory naked 'body tests'.

Young men, many of whom are fresh out of education, are this week being put through their paces to check if they have what it takes to be a member of China's armed forces.

And, bizarrely, it appears many of those checks are carried out while the young recruits have no clothes on.

As China's annual military recruitment period launches early this year, thousands of young men undergo naked health exams which includes exercises such as press-ups

Volunteers: It may look like torture, but these young men are volunteering to do these exercises, naked, as part of the army's recruitment phase

Pictures taken at a school in Dongxiang County, eastern China's Jiangxi Province, show the young, unclothed men, doing squats, press-ups and other exercises as they are watched by a team of officials.

They are checked over from head to toe by men in white coats overlooked by soldiers in uniform.

The mass body check-ups are apparently a regular first step in the recruitment process for the young men.

The annual conscription period has been brought forward this year by a couple of months in the hope that more talented applicants will sign up after their graduation

The young army recruits are quite literally examined from head to toe by men in white coats as uniformed officials look on

According to the Global Times , China this year shifted its annual conscription period from the beginning of October to the start of August, in the hope that 'more talented' people would sign up.

The new season falls immediately after the school graduation period; the State Council and the Central Military Commission hope new, clever graduates will be more likely to sign up in August than a few months later in October.

It is the first time in 23 years that any changes to this process have been adopted.

It is the first time in 23 years that any changes have been made to the annual recruitment process for the Chinese military

During the compulsory body checks, the young men are examined one by one as the others look on

According to the news service, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) has asked conscription authorities across the country to prioritise admissions of better-educated applicants, and believes this change will bring in a higher calibre recruit.

But it appears there is no change to the health and body examination.

While it might seem at best odd, and at worst, unnecessary, the naked check-ups remain a standard part of the procedure.



Army conscription in China has always begun in October, but this year, in a bid to sign up the highest calibre recruits, it has been brought forward to immediately after graduation

The naked body check remains a standard part of the recruitment procedure in China, where thousands of naked of applicants will be reviewed in the coming days