The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia was arrested, and it was officially announced that he was removed from office. It has been revealed that the Inner Mongolia Zhurihe Training Base ceased training for about a month after his arrest. The base is known as the most advanced training base in the PLA, and Zhang Youxia was in charge of Zhurihe Base during his tenure as Deputy Commander of the Beijing Military Region.
According to Mr. Wang, a scholar who has been closely following military developments, rumors about the investigation of Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli had been circulating within the military for nearly two months. He stated, “My friends in Inner Mongolia informed me that the Zhurihe Training Base was temporarily suspended for about a month, for reasons that remain unclear. Major exercises need to be reported to the PLA General Office and approved by senior officials.” Wang pointed out that changes in the training schedule could be related to high-level personnel changes.
Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia and PLA Committee member Liu Zhenli were absent from the opening ceremony of a provincial and ministerial-level officials’ seminar hosted by the Chinese Communist Party on January 20, 2026. Rumors of their arrest continued, leading to Zhang’s official removal on January 24, 2026.
Reports indicate that significant exercises at Zhurihe typically involve joint operations among multiple military branches and require higher levels of approval. “Major exercises are not decisions that grassroots units can make on their own. They must be reported to the PLA General Office and sometimes need approval from even higher levels,” Mr. Wang explained. He added that during periods of change at the PLA level, the pace of operations tends to slow down to avoid mistakes.
On October 1, 2025, the Japanese newspaper “Sankei News” reported that satellite images revealed new constructions at the Zhurihe Base in Inner Mongolia, including a “simulated Presidential Office,” a “simulated Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” and a new “simulated Supreme Court” connected by underground tunnels to the Presidential model. This systematic simulation indicates that China’s threat towards Taiwan has escalated from military intimidation to “decapitation operation” war drills aimed at disrupting Taiwan’s decision-making center.
According to CCTV’s reporting in early October 2025, a battalion from the 82nd Group Army engaged in live-fire combat exercises at the Zhurihe Training Base in Inner Mongolia.
In early November 2025, CCTV’s military channel reported that the “White Tiger Brigade” of the 78th Group Army conducted live-fire combat exercises at the Zhurihe outdoor training ground.
However, there have been no reports of live-fire combat exercises at the Zhurihe Base since December 2025.
Zhang Youxia served as Deputy Commander of the Beijing Military Region from December 2005 to September 2007.
On December 2, 2025, former Zhurihe Base Deputy Commander Zhang Jixiang published an article titled “Returning to Zhurihe: Zhang Youxia Takes the Lead, ‘Multidimensional Reconnaissance Platform’ Illuminates the Battlefield!” on the public platform “Huashan Qiongjian.”
In the article, Zhang Jixiang recalled Zhang Youxia’s time as Deputy Commander of the Beijing Military Region, praising his dedication to training at Zhurihe Base and his thorough understanding of every detail of the exercises. Zhang Youxia led the development and application of the “Multidimensional Reconnaissance Platform” for real combat exercises and served as the chief director for its acceptance and practical exercises.
Public reports show that in early 1998, Zhang Jixiang, who was then the Director of the Automation Office of the Communication Department of the Beijing Military Region, was appointed as the Deputy Commander of the Zhurihe Training Base, overseeing the base’s information technology infrastructure. Zhang Jixiang also held positions as a senior engineer at the Zhurihe Training Base, head of the military’s expert team for training base construction, and part-time professor at eight military and civilian schools. In November 2013, during Zhang Youxia’s tenure as a PLA Committee member and Minister of General Equipment, Zhang Jixiang was awarded the First-Class Merit by the Chinese Communist Party Central Military Commission.
Zhurihe, a Mongolian transliteration, means “heart.” The Zhurihe Tactical Training Base of the Chinese Army is named after the town of Zhurihe, located between Zhurihe Town in Sunite Right Banner, Xilingol League, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and Baiyinchagan Town in Siziwang Banner, Ulanqab City.
According to reports from the Communist Party’s media in 2014, the Zhurihe Tactical Training Base of the Beijing Military Region is the largest in Asia and the most advanced training facility in the Chinese Army. The base’s advanced facilities and equipment are top-notch in the military, being the only training base capable of conducting large-scale joint land and air combat exercises for corps-sized units in the entire army.
Public information indicates that in July 1997, the Central Military Commission of the Chinese Communist Party decided to expand the Armored Training Field of the Beijing Military Region into the largest tactical training base for the entire army. In the first half of 2011, the Central Military Commission decided to establish the Zhurihe Training Base as the Army’s only joint combat experiment field. In 2016, during the reform of the Chinese military, the Zhurihe Training Base was transferred from the Beijing Military Region to the Army.
In 2011, the Zhurihe Base formed a specialized Blue Army force. The Blue Army acts as a professional force playing the role of a hypothetical enemy in military simulation exercises. As of late September 2015, the Blue Army Brigade at the Zhurihe Base engaged in 33 live-fire combat exercises against seven combined arms corps (brigades), naval infantry brigades, and achieved a record of 31 victories and 2 losses, earning the title of the “First Blue Army Brigade in China.”