LIVE COVERAGE OF CHINA's V-Day PARADE
As many as 12,000 Chinese troops will march along with 1,000 foreign troops in the V-Day military parade at Tiananmen Square on Thursday to mark the 70th anniversary of the "victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression".
The massive parade, which seems to have a strong anti-Japan overtone, will feature 11 foot formations, 27 armament formations, and 10 aircraft formations, China's Xinhua agency reported.
The weaponry on display will include China's secret "carrier-killer missile", reports said, while a J-15 aircraft carrier-based fighter jet and a long-range bomber. Even nuclear missiles will be part of the military parade.
The V-Day parade is largely being seen as China's show of strength by most Western nations, who have kept away their troops and top leaders from Tiananmen Square.
The parade comes, more importantly. at a time when China's stock market crisis sent global markets into a tizzy.
There also seems to have been much politics over which leaders and troops will attend the event, given the status of their respective nations' bilateral relations.
Troops from 17 countries, including Pakistan, will mark the event, while Indian troops will understandably stay away.
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will also not be seen, while the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin, an American foe, and South Korean leader Park geun-hye, a US ally, will also send strong messages to the United States.
Chinese media have bombarded the TV audience in the country with videos of preparations for the parade, cancelling all other programmes over the last few days.
The preps also include the use of monkeys and hawks to keep away birds from the area, local media reported.
As China gears up for this first-of-its-kind parade, here are a few links you can use to watch the event live online.
Live coverage of the military parade will be played on China's CCTV English channel and CNC World news channel.
You can also get detailed coverage on Chinese news sites such as Xinhua, Global Times and China Daily.
Xinhua has opened social media accounts to show a live streaming of the V-Day parade.
You can watch it on its YouTube channel, while its Twitter handle will post live updates.
