The 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China took place on 1 October 2009. A military parade involving 10,000 troops and the display of many high-tech weapons was held in Tiananmen Square in Beijing and various celebrations were conducted all over the country. China's paramount leader Hu Jintao inspected the troops along Chang'an Avenue in Beijing. This parade was immediately followed by a civilian parade involving 100,000 participants.
Background
The People's Republic of China was founded on 1 October 1949. Since then, celebrations of varying scales occur on National Day each year. Military parades, presided over by Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party Mao Zedong, were held every year between 1949 and 1959. In September 1960, the Chinese leadership decided that in order to save funds and "be frugal", large-scale ceremonies for National Day would only be held every ten years, with a smaller-scale ceremony every five years. The last large-scale celebration during the Mao era was in 1969. Large-scale celebrations did not take place for 14 years amidst the climax of the Cultural Revolution. Since then, the most prominent National Day celebrations have taken place in 1984 and 1999, at the 35th and 50th anniversaries respectively. During these celebrations, then-paramount leader Deng Xiaoping and Jiang Zemin reviewed military parades of the People's Liberation Army. The 2009 parade was the first and last time Hu Jintao oversaw this task, as he left office of General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (paramount leader) in 2012 due to term limits.
Preparations
40 million potted flowers, supplied by the state-owned Beijing Flowers & Trees Corp., were put in place in Beijing streets, approximately 5 million of which have been planted along the east–west axis of Chang'an Avenue, also known as the 'Avenue of Eternal Peace'. Flowers in Tiananmen Square were under 24-hour surveillance; Beijing Jinggong Red Flag factory began producing 2 million national flags for the celebrations. In Tiananmen Square itself, 56 "pillars of national unity" – each one symbolizing the 56 ethnic groups in China – were erected, with each containing fireworks for the night event on 1 October. 800,000 volunteers controlled crowds and maintained order while a further 30,000 provided translation services at subway and bus stations.
Mosquitoes, rats, flies, and cockroaches were the targets of professional exterminators – four unannounced night-time sweeps were carried out around Tiananmen Square in Beijing, including in the Forbidden City complex. The public was encouraged to support the eradication through red slogan banners along Beijing streets and alleys, in what The Times said was reminiscent of the Four Pests campaign. One of these slogans read: "Eradicate the four pests, stress hygiene. Cleanly, cleanly welcome National Day!"
Tiananmen Square was sealed off for the day on 29 August for the first rehearsals. Tens of thousands of fully costumed performers rehearsed on 16 September. The military also prepared, with several hundred vehicles rolling down Chang'an Avenue on 6 September. Parts of Beijing were closed down on 18 September for the final rehearsals of the anniversary parade. Police cleared streets and office buildings on the main roadways near Tiananmen Square from noon onwards for rehearsals that evening. State media went into overdrive; for example, highlighting how thousands of troops spent four months drilling to march in step on a mock practice ground with scale model of Chang'an Avenue, complete with the leadership reviewing stand. Following disruptions caused by the drills, which shut down roads and large parts of the Beijing Subway, Xinhua News Agency announced that the final rehearsal parade, scheduled for 26 September, was called off.
Security The Sunday Times reported that "thousands of agents will stage a security clampdown exceeding anything seen for the 2008 Olympic Games". Police in Beijing and neighbouring provinces were in a heightened state of readiness, with night patrols by armed police lasting from 15 September until the end of the festivities. All basements in the city were subject to inspection by police, while some restaurants with roof terraces were not permitted to seat patrons on sides overlooking the street for the duration. However, despite the supposed high alert around Beijing, a man armed with a knife killed two people and injured 12 in the heart of Beijing on 17 September. Peter Ford of The Christian Science Monitor said that the stabbing incident had been played down locally. Following the attacks, however, knives were removed from sale at some stores such as Walmart and Carrefour.Trung Hoa "làm sạch" trung tâm thủ đô chuẩn bị lễ Quốc Khánh
Thousands of paramilitary officers were deployed at bridges, road tunnels and other strategic points in the city. Residents were warned that if they stepped out onto balconies along the route, they might be shot. 30,000 people with tickets were invited to watch the event, but others were encouraged to watch it on television to "avoid complications."
The Times says the authorities engaged counter-terrorist units and informers in districts where Xinjiang Muslims live, placed Tibetan Buddhists under surveillance, and arrested dissidents. Peasants coming to the capital to present their grievances as petitions were blocked, while the government ordered the search of all cars entering Beijing. The security drives organised by the Ministry of Public Security in Beijing, as well as neighbouring Hebei, Liaoning, Shandong and Shanxi provinces, the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region and the Tianjin Municipality was dubbed a "Security Moat" by a senior official. The official said the "safety of China's National Day celebrations and stability in Beijing was of overriding importance." The Times reported Internet users claiming censorship had been tightened; many sites had been blocked, among them Facebook and Twitter. One media analyst said that the authorities upgraded their technology to block free proxy services and were trying to block any free proxy services and VPNs during the week prior to the anniversary.
Other security arrangements in place included relocation of mailboxes and newspaper stands along Chang'an Avenue and the closure or restricted opening of some of the hotels along the route (ex. the Beijing Hotel, the Beijing News Plaza Hotel, and the Beijing International Hotel). Other hotels on Chang'an Avenue closed guest rooms facing the main road during the celebrations.
Media The government established a media centre from 22 September until 2 October at the Media Center Hotel catering for journalists covering celebrations. The centre's deputy, Zhu Shouchen, said they received applications from more than 4,500 journalists around the world, including some 1,300 journalists from 346 media organisations in 108 countries. Almost 400 of them were said to be from Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.
A film entitled The Founding of a Republic, commissioned by China's film regulator and made by the China Film Group (CFG) to mark the anniversary, was released nationwide on 17 September. The film retells the tale of the Communist ascendancy and triumph, with a star-studded cast including actors Zhang Ziyi, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, and directors Jiang Wen, Chen Kaige, and John Woo in mostly cameo appearances; the leading roles – such as Mao Zedong – were played by lesser known actors. CFG chairman Han Sanping co-directed the film with Huang Jianxin. A CFG spokesman said many stars answered Han's call to appear in the film and waived their fee, helping it keep its modest budget of 60–70 million yuan (US$8.8–$10 million). According to the executive at one of China's top multiplex chains, the film unusually married "the core of an 'ethically inspiring' film" – code for propaganda films, according to the Associated Press – "with commercial packaging."
Parades
Leaders Liu Qi, as the Beijing municipal Communist Party Secretary, was the master of ceremonies for the event. Hu Jintao, in his position as the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, President of the People's Republic, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, presided over the military parade. In addition, all members of the Politburo Standing Committee at the time, along with the former leader Jiang Zemin, stood atop Tiananmen in protocol order for the entire duration of the parade. Other prominent retired leaders, including former Premiers Li Peng and Zhu Rongji, and former Vice President Zeng Qinghong were also in attendance.
Military parade
The military parade took place on Chang'an Avenue, with the country's leaders watching the parade from Tiananmen, above Mao's portrait. Hu Jintao inspected the troops standing onto a Hongqi HQE limousine designed for the event, with a special license plate (京V 02009). For the anniversary, the Chinese government budgeted roughly $44 million for the military parade, with some budget cuts due to the 2008 financial crisis. The parade displayed 52 new types of military hardware, including ZTZ99 main battle tanks, J-10 fighter aircraft, KJ-200 and KJ-2000 early-warning aircraft, Z-9W attack helicopters, and new models of the Type 95 and Type 03 assault rifles.
The five new types of missiles were paraded by the Second Artillery Corps. The Second Artillery's display included a total of 108 missiles and was intended to showcase China's strategic deterrence capabilities.Zhongguo Xinwen She, "Second Artillery To Debut 5 New Strategic Missiles at National Day Parade", 28 September 2009.
List of participating divisions in the parade
In order of appearance: PLA Combined Guard of honour (Chinese: 中国人民解放军三军仪仗队) PLA Ground Force Cadet Officers Square Formation (Chinese: 陆军学员方队) PLA Ground Force Infantry Square Formation (Chinese: 陆军步兵方队) PLA Ground Force Special Forces Square Formation (Chinese: 陆军特种部队方队) PLA Navy Cadet Officers Square Formation (Chinese: 海军学员方队) PLA Navy Seamen Square Formation (Chinese: 海军水兵方队) PLA Navy Marine Corps Square Formation (Chinese: 海军陆战队方队) PLA Air Force Cadet Officers Square Formation (Chinese: 空军飞行学员方队) PLA Air Force Paratroopers Square Formation (Chinese: 空军空降兵方队) PLA Second Artillery Corps Cadets Square Formation (Chinese: 第二炮兵学员方队) PLA Female Soldiers Square Formation (Chinese: 三军女兵方队) People's Armed Police Square Formation (Chinese: 武警方队) PLA Reserve Service Forces Square Formation (Chinese: 预备役方队) Female Militia Square Formation (Chinese: 女民兵方队)
List of military vehicles paraded
Chinese official state media states that all equipment displayed in the parade are manufactured in China, with 90% of them first displayed to the public. The equipment are listed in the order of appearance, with new appearances in bold: ZTZ99 main battle tank ZTZ96A main battle tank ZBD2000 amphibious fighting vehicle ZBD-97 infantry fighting vehicle ZBL-08/09 infantry fighting vehicle ZLC2000 airborne infantry fighting vehicle ZSL-92 anti-riot infantry fighting vehicle Type 05 155 mm self-propelled howitzer Type 07 122 mm self-propelled howitzer PLL-05 120mm self-propelled mortar-howitzer PTL02 100mm tank destroyer PHL03 300mm multiple launch rocket system HJ-9 anti-tank missile system Type 95 self-propelled anti-aircraft artillery HQ-7 surface-to-air missile HQ-16 surface-to-air missile YJ-83 anti-ship missile YJ-62 shore to ship cruise missile HQ-9 surface-to-air missile HQ-12 surface-to-air missile ASN series tactical unmanned aerial drones DF-15 short range ballistic missile DF-11 short range ballistic missile CJ-10 land attack cruise missile DF-21 medium range ballistic missile DF-31 intercontinental ballistic missile DF-31A intercontinental ballistic missile KJ-2000 early warning aircraft KJ-200 early warning aircraft Xian H-6 bomber and tanker along with newer Xian H-6K variant JH-7A fighter-bomber J-8F interceptor fighter Chengdu J-10 multirole fighter