Not to be outdone by the conventional army, China’s powerful strategic rocket troops, the Second Artillery Force, still uses cavalry units to patrol its sprawling missile bases deep within China’s vast interior.
Is there any evidence apart from some staged pictures of some event that this is actually true?
the Air Force continues to use a 1950s Soviet designed airframe, the Tupolev Tu-16, as a bomber (its original intended mission), a battlefield reconnaissance aircraft, an electronic warfare aircraft, a target spotting aircraft, and an aerial refueling tanker. Likewise, the PLA uses the Soviet designed Antonov An-12 military cargo aircraft for ELINT (electronic intelligence) missions, ASW (anti-submarine warfare) missions, geological survey missions, and airborne early warning missions. It also has an An-12 variant specially modified for transporting livestock, allowing sheep and goats access to remote seasonal pastures.
Interestingly, the C-130 is still in use by US forces for most of the uses listed above. It first flew in 1954[3]. The B-52 remains the primary US bomber. It first flew in 1952[4].
Take the PLA’s lack of combat experience, for example. A few minor border scraps aside, the PLA hasn’t seen real combat since the Korean War. This appears to be a major factor leading it to act so brazenly in the East and South China Seas.
The more aggressive Chinese position in the South China Sea is possibly the most important strategic development in the last 5 years (and of course it has pretty much been ignored by most media). Saying it is caused by PLA leadership while ignoring the HUGE OIL AND GAS RESERVES the area has is a pretty major oversight (One of the Chinese leadership's biggest concerns is how dependant it is on overseas sources of energy, and how easily those sources could be cut off. A source of oil and gas in Chinese controlled waters is something they see as a major goal, and they may well be willing to fight for it).
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-Indian_War
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-Indian_War#Ceasefire