Red Army commanders in neatly-but-not-unified military uniforms

Army soldiers in 50' style service uniforms

A PLA solider in 65' style military uniform

Army soldiers in 04' style service winter service uniforms

　　In May 1928, Taoliao Bedding & Clothing Factory was established, and from that time on, the Red Army got its own standard military uniforms.

　　With the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army began to wear the military uniforms of the Kuomintang troops.

　　In 1949, grass green was made the color for the PLA military uniform which would go with an "August 1" red five-star metal badge on the cap. This was the first time in the history of the PLA to unify the style and color of the military uniforms.

　　On January 4, 1950, the Central Military Commission approved the new style military uniform which was called 50' style military uniform for short. It was the first time for the PLA to be uniformly outfitted with military uniforms of a uniform style and a uniform standard since the liberation of China.

　　On October 1, 1955, the system of military ranks was formally introduced into the PLA and the uniform was changed into 55' style uniform with military ranks to go with it. This time the uniforms came out tentatively in series including service uniforms, ceremonial uniforms and work uniforms, finalized the style and fabrics for the new uniforms, and had the various insignias designed with clear implications. It had a landmark significance in the history of the PLA military uniform.

　　In June 1965, the PLA system of military ranks was abolished, and the uniform with military rank was replaced accordingly by the 65' style military uniform.

　　In May 1973, the 71' style military uniform was adopted in the army. The quality and wearability of the 71' style military uniform were improved by a big margin and for that matter, was called a great leap-forward in the history of uniform fabric development of the PLA.

　　On October 1, 1988, the system of military ranks came back to the PLA. And at the same time, the 87' style serial military uniforms were issued to the PLA. This was a high-level and rather complete uniform reform with the introduction of the biggest varieties of military uniforms (over 400 kinds), symbolizing that the PLA military uniform had entered a new period of advancing from the stage with a low-level and singular uniform system to a stage with a high-level and serialized uniform system.

　　Starting from 1993, the PLA began to make research on a new generation of 21^st century-oriented military uniforms compatible with the uniforms of the advanced countries in the world. The new generation of military uniforms-97' style uniforms, made their debut in Hong Kong on May 1, 1997, as the officers and men of the PLA Hong Kong Garrison were the first to wear them. From May 1, 2000, the officers and men of the entire armed forces started to wear the 99' style long-sleeve and short-sleeve shirts and berets. The new generation of military uniforms have better displayed the beauty of the masculine spirit of the servicemen and the fine quality of the army as a group, and better still, it contributed a positive role for displaying the PLA as a mighty and civilized force.

　　From August 1, 2007 on, all the troops of the PLA will change into the 07' style military uniforms in succession. This is an all-round and systematic reform in the history of the PLA military uniform and symbolizes that the military uniform development of the PLA has realized a historical leapfrog.

　　(July 5, PLA Daily)