Military parade tradition stretches back to founding of PRC

While China’s military parade commemorating the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II will be the first of its kind, the country has held 14 military parades since the founding of the People' s Republic of China, to celebrate National Day.

From 1949 to 1959, China staged a military parade every National Day. They featured soldiers in marching formations and military hardware, such as tanks, missiles and fighter jets flying overhead.

But the tradition changed in 1960, when the government decided to only hold the ceremony every 10 years, in an effort to scale down the military. No parades were held during the Cultural Revolution, between 1966 and 1976.

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