World leaders, including Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un of North Korea, watched China display its most recent military equipment in a massive parade in Beijing.
The capital’s Tiananmen Square, the entrance to the historically Forbidden City and the heart of President Xi Jinping’s show of force to the world, was a gathering place from dawn on Wednesday.
With their parade invitations posed with eager faces in front of Tiananmen, a backdrop adorned with Chinese national flags and thousands of red and green seats set up for the occasion.
The square’s giant, golden numerals “1945” and “2025” serve as reminders of the 80 years since Japan’s surrender and World War II ended.
As soldiers marched in the square, military bands blared their trumpets in concert.
Kim and Putin were pictured greeting Xi and the other foreign leaders as they crossed paths for a group photo in a rarely seen moment.
As Xi passed troops waiting for attention along Chang’an Avenue while wearing a dark gray Mao suit, he waited in an open-topped black limousine.
“Comrades, you are working hard,” yelled the soldiers! Before joining his guests in a grandstand above the famed Mao Zedong portrait on Tiananmen, including Putin and Kim, he repeatedly yelled into four microphones.
The ceremony took place in mid-to-mid-90s Fahrenheit, which was challenging for many spectators who had to sweat profusely outside the unshaded stands. Some staff members helped those who felt unwell to leave.
Source: Aljazeera
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