Sixteen female pilots pose for a group picture at an airport in Beijing on July 14 (XINHUA)

Female pilots line up before training starts at an airport in Beijing on July 14 (XINHUA)

The upcoming 60th National Day celebration will feature the first-ever group of female pilots to take part in the military parade.

These 16 female pilots have not visited home for almost two years. They have sacrificed their vacation in favor of training to ensure a polished performance at the military parade.

Their historic journey took off in September 2005, when just 35 women were selected from 350,000 high school graduates. Sixteen pilots graduated in April this year after more than three years of intense training.

China is the eighth country in the world to have female fighter pilots. The female pilots' reaction speed and ability to process military data is about the same as their male counterparts. The females' routine on flight days is also similar, starting training at 4am and finishing at around 3pm.

The upcoming National Day military parade marks the historic debut for China's first-ever female fighter pilots.

(Xinhua News Agency, CCTV.com September 16, 2009)