Song Hongji. [Photo by Huo Yan / China Daily]

On the long train ride between Beijing and the southern city of Nanning, some Chinese war veterans sat and reminisced.

It was Sept 5. Two days earlier, they had all attended China's grand parade to mark the 70 anniversary of the victory of the anti-Fascist war and the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1937-45).

As they returned home to the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, each proudly wore light green military uniform that had been tailor-made especially for the event. On the left breast, their names, rank and units had been stitched in white.

Among them was 101-year-old Song Hongji. He graduated from Guangxi University in 1943 and then volunteered for the Chinese Red Cross in Guizhou province.

The Japanese army invaded the province in November 1944, causing tens of thousands of refugees to flee to the capital, Guiyang, which was still under Chinese control. Song led a team responsible for treating the refugees.