Pride of nations to march in parade

Female soldiers of the Military Band of the Chinese People's Liberation Army practice for the V-Day parade at Tian'anmen Square in Beijing, August 29, 2015. A military parade celebrating the 70th anniversary of the victory in World War II will be held at Tian'anmen Square on Sept 3. [Photo/CFP]

A busy schedule awaits participants in Thursday morning's victory parade in Tian'anmen Square.

President Xi Jinping and first lady Peng Liyuan will arrive in the square at 9 am to welcome guests and have a group picture taken at the Tian'anmen Rostrum.

A total of 1,200 members of the Chorus of the Chinese People's Liberation Army will perform alongside the Military Band.

At 10 am, a 70-gun salute will be fired before the national flag is raised and the national anthem played.

Xi will deliver a speech before inspecting troops. Afterward, the march past will begin and last for about 50 minutes.

A helicopter parading the national flag will fly by, escorted by two other helicopters. Another 20 military helicopters will fly overhead forming the figure 70 to mark the 70th anniversary commemorations. Seven fighter jets will fly past.

More than 300 veterans and their descendants will pass by in two vehicle formations.

Eleven formations of Chinese troops will march past, including 51 female honor guards. It is the first time female honor guards have joined a parade.

Seventeen formations of foreign troops will march past in this order: Afghanistan, Belarus, Cambodia, Cuba, Egypt, Fiji, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Mexico, Mongolia, Pakistan, Serbia, Tajikistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela and Russia.

Twenty-seven armament formations will then be paraded.

Ground assault troops, air defense and anti-missile troops, the Naval Operations Unit, Strategic Strike Force, Information Support Unit and Logistics and Equipment Support will join the commemorations.

The events will end with 10 Air Force formations flying over the square and doves and balloons being released.