Chinese troops swelter through rehearsal for major military parade

AFP | Beijing

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Rows of neatly dressed soldiers marched in unison to shouted instructions at a training ground in humid Beijing on Wednesday, as China prepares to unveil new domestically produced military hardware at a parade next month.

President Xi Jinping will inspect troops in the capital's Tiananmen Square at the event to mark 80 years since the end of World War II, with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and other world leaders expected to attend.

Pin-straight lines of men and women clutching guns packed the pavement at a rehearsal on a military training square under the hot sun in northwest Beijing on Wednesday.

Soldiers in their twenties stared sternly as sweat collected on their faces and soaked through their fatigues.

Wang Ranran, an army guard, said she was "extremely proud" to participate in the parade on September 3.

"China often uses the term 'steel-gun rose' to describe its female soldiers," she said. "The combination of roses and guns, we really like it."

Troops wearing white, green and navy blue uniforms with Chinese flags on their chests started and stopped to the piercing voices of the officers directing the show.

Training that is "strict, difficult and practical" has always been the army's tradition, said Lan Yu, a second-level staff sergeant.

Rehearsals had not lasted long, he said, because parade training was part of their daily schedule.