China's Special Operations Forces: The cutting edge of the PLA

The People's Liberation Army Special Operations Forces, or the SOF, is a branch of the PLA Ground Force. It is the biggest active military in the world, also among the world's best.

Chinese SOF are tasked with commando operations, counter-terrorism, and intelligence gathering. They can trace their history back to scouts who conducted reconnaissance missions during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Chinese Civil War and the Korean War.

But for years, there were no specially dedicated special forces units. At the end of the 1980s, Chinese leaders decided they needed to create such a force to meet the needs of modern warfare.

The first such unit was established in south China in 1988 in the Guangzhou Military Command Area. It was equipped with the most advanced hi-tech equipment available to military forces in China at the time.

Various special units exist in all five theatre commands across the country now. To qualify as a special operations soldier is extremely hard, especially in China.

Most of their missions are behind enemy lines, including decapitation missions, taking control of enemy airports and sabotage missions. Also, they need to master all kinds of transportation, weapon systems, surviving skills on land, sea and underwater, making them pretty much invincible.