RTX1QCJY
Students pose with a Chinese national flag and red stars during a event to mark the 70th anniversary of the Victory of Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, at a primary school in Handan, Hebei province, China, August 31, 2015. China will mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War Two with a massive military parade this Thursday, with some 12,000 soldiers marching through Beijing's central Tiananmen Square. REUTERS/China Daily

Beijing is gearing up in full strength for a ceremonious military parade on Thursday to mark the end of World War II. The event will be graced by the presence of Chinese President Xi Jinping along with the Russian President Vladimir Putin, President of Sudan Omar Hassan al-Bashir and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

The city is making sure to leave no stone unturned for the event, from restricting the use of car on the day of the massive military parade to directing factories, hundreds of kilometres away, to remain closed to ensure “blue parade.”

On Thursday, around 12,000 soldiers will be marching across Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. The parade will mostly have Chinese personnel with Russian and few other contingents taking part in it as well. The two major airports of Beijing will remain closed on the same day and people living along the parade route have been warned not to look out their windows.

The parade is Communist Party’s biggest event of the year and it is taking place at a time when China is going through an economic turmoil, with fluctuating stock market and uncertain economic growth. When asked about the country’s spirits around the event, a source close to the leadership said, “It's like treading on thin ice."

Reportedly, former President of Philippines Joseph Estrada will also attend the massive event in his capacity as the Mayor of Manila and not as a representative of the government of Philippines. “He will be going as an invited guest. Manila is the sister city of Beijing and he is going as mayor of Manila,” Diego Cagahastian, media affairs chief of Estrada, told AFP.

The end of World War II also marks the defeat of Japan. Chinese Defence Ministry spokesperson Yang Yujun said last week that the parade has no “direct connection” with the present state of affairs between the two nations. But as Reuters noted, China hardly ever misses a chance to remind the world of the horrors brought upon it by Japan during the second World War.

Contact the writer at feedback@ibtimes.com.au, or let us know what you think below.

RELATED STORIES