Beijing closed down its streets overnight in the heart of the city near Tiananmen Square as tens of thousands of people joined in the first dress rehearsal for China’s 60th anniversary parade.
On Oct. 1, the People’s Republic of China celebrates six decades since its founding. The first full-fledged rehearsal was held overnight on Friday for hours along Chang An Avenue, the major boulevard that runs in front of the Forbidden City.
Chanting loudly, a massive procession of participants, holding aloft banners and balloons, flooded the central Avenue of Eternal Peace for a full kilometer, moving in giant orderly formations.
PHOTO: AP
From 11pm le until dawn yesterday, police blocked off streets surrounding the area and cleared roads of cars and people.
Hundreds of passenger buses lined up in the middle of the street and disgorged thousands of performers onto the boulevard.
Some were dressed in matching colored T-shirts, caps and shorts, while students in uniforms carried pink and yellow pompoms or red rings. Marching in groups, the performers slowly made their way toward Tiananmen Square, where the Oct. 1 celebration will begin.
Few details have been given out on the schedule for the celebrations, but a keynote address from Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) is expected, followed by an elaborate military parade and performances involving 200,000 people, 60 floats and fireworks.
Like most official party events, the National Day festivities are expected to be tightly choreographed spectacles, with this one centering on a huge parade. The events are a way for the leadership to show off to the world and its people the country’s might and prosperity.
The secrecy surrounding the proceedings required hotels along the main avenue to keep guests sequestered inside as parade preparations were under way.
The parade is intended to highlight accomplishments China has made in its defense sector during the past six decades. But during the overnight drill, troops and military hardware that Beijing plans to showcase in October were not in evidence.
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