People's Republic of China marks 60th anniversary with grand parade and celebration

BEIJING — The colorful military parade held on China's 60th anniversary of communist rule Thursday was a show of strength by a nation that has rarely been more confident, analysts say.

China used the celebration to showcase its first military parade in a decade with an arsenal of fighter jets, tanks, ballistic missiles and armored personnel carriers. The choreographed display included 100,000 marchers, 80,000 children, 8,000 military servicemembers and 151 planes.

President Hu Jintao, who is also head of the military and ruling Communist Party, told the watching nation that the Chinese people were "full of confidence" about the future.

"Today, a socialist China geared to modernization, the world and the future has stood rock-firm in the east of the world," he said.

After the parade, a pageant highlighted China's dramatic achievements in recent years. Floats depicted sending men into space and the country's transportation network that will carry 565 million people over the next eight days of the public holiday, the state-run Xinhua News Agency said.

The celebration marks the day in 1949 when Chairman Mao Zedong's revolution overthrew Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists, establishing the People's Republic of China and one-party communist rule. In the decades since, the nation has grown into the world's third-largest economy and a global power.

People's Republic of China prepares its 60th anniversary

Chairman Mao proclaimed the founding of People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949.
Now Chinese people welcome and prepare the incoming the nation's 60th anniversary.


A man rides a bicycle past the National Unity Poles, which have been named and decorated for October's 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, in Beijing's Tiananmen Square September 17, 2009.


A Chinese military tank heads towards Tiananmen Square where a rehearsal for China's 60th anniversary will be held in Beijing, Friday, Sept. 18, 2009. Authorities shut down a major part of central Beijing to conduct the rehearsal for the parade.


Chinese military vehicles are parked on Changan Ave. near Tiananmen Square during a rehearsal for a ceremony marking China's 60th anniversary in Beijing, China, on Friday, Sept. 18, 2009.


Participants rehearse on one of the National Day floats in Beijing on September 16, 2009.


Workers sew Chinese national flags at a factory on the outskirts of Beijing, September 4, 2009. Demand for the flags is increasing as people prepare for the 60th anniversary celebration.


Participants stand in form in a boulevard leading to Tiananmen Square in Beijing during a rehearsal for the 60th anniversary parade August 29, 2009.


A couple take wedding pictures in front of the Tiananmen Gate on September 8, 2009 in Beijing, China. Many people are expected to hold their wedding on National Day.


Chinese hairdresser Huang Xin works on his latest art piece, a replica of The National museum of China, made from human hair, at his barbershop in Beijing September 9, 2009. Huang uses human hair to make replicas of iconic Chinese buildings and items, such as the Tiananmen gate and The Great Hall of The People, since early 2008.


Pupils create the national flag on a canvas by using their hands dipped in red paint at a primary school in Jinan, Shandong province September 14, 2009.


People's Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers perform a dance featuring Long March during a rehearsal of a musical drama entitled "The Road of Revival" at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing September 14, 2009.


Chinese military singers take part in a chorus performance of patriotic songs involving 10,000 participants held at a gym inBeijing, China, Wednesday Aug. 26, 2009.


A couple kiss as workers test the lights at the Great Hall of the People at the Tiananmen Square on September 8, 2009 in Beijing, China.