CRI听力: 13 National Day Parades

Anchor: To celebrate the 60th anniversary of its founding, China will hold its 14th military parade at 10 a.m. today at Tian'anmen Square. From a troop of peasants to a modern army with nuclear weapons, the previous 13 military parades have showcased the modernization and advancing military spirit of the People's Liberation Army.

Now our reporter Liao Jibo will take you back through history to see the highlights of China's National Day parades.

On October 1st, 1949, more than 300,000 people gathered at Tian'anmen Square at 3 p.m. for the first National Day military parade of New China. (WWW.hxen.net)

Along with the ground force, the newly-formed navy and air forces were reviewed by senior party and government officials, including Chairman Mao Zedong and Commander in Chief Zhu De. The parade route has not changed to this day.

The 1949 parade displayed "multinationally-built" equipment as most of it had been captured from the enemy during wartime.

A total of 119 artillery, 152 tanks and armored vehicles, 2,344 war horses and 17 aircraft were present in the parade.

Since there were not enough aircraft to present, 9 of the 17 aircrafts flew across the Tian'anmen area twice. This was the only parade in the world's history that permitted aircraft to carry real weapons, because China was still at war and the planes were in charge of safegaurding the capital's airspace.

From 1949 to 1959, China held a military parade for each National Day ceremony. In the 1950s, the People's Liberation Army devoted itself to developing its own weapons and training its soldiers to meet the demands of modern wars.

A photo of "tractors towing the artillery" during the 1953 parade reflects the army's transition to modernization at that time. And in the 1954 parade, the cavalry troops were disbanded as the military modernized.

The 1959 parade for New China's 10th birthday showcased the new stage PLA weapons and equipment had entered.

The armaments in this parade were basically all domestically made - of the six types of artillery, five were made in China. The Type 59 medium tanks were the first generation of main battle tanks independently made in China, and marked the beginning of the country's ability to produce tanks. The latest type of automatic rifles on display was also independently made in China.

In September of 1960, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council decided "to celebrate on a small scale every five years while celebrating on a large scale with military parades every 10 years."

After a 24-year hiatus, the then-Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission Deng Xiaoping reviewed New China's 12th National Day parade in 1984. This was the first military parade after China's opening up in 1978.

To greet the reformer who led China towards market economics, several college students raised a banner saying "Hello Xiaoping" during the parade, creating a classic moment in China's parade history.

After 10 years of fast all-around development, the 1999 National Day parade created multiple new records.

In the history of New China, this parade had the most army branches. Its armed forces lineup, comprising more than 100 fighting vehicles from tanks to infantry fighting vehicles and armored vehicle divisions, was also the largest.

The 1999 parade had more Second Artillery Force missiles than any other National Day military parade. The 25 vehicle divisions comprised more than 400 army, navy, air force, and Second Artillery Force vehicles. Both the number of divisions and the number of vehicles set new records in the history of New China's National Day military parades. And the 25-soldier columns of the reviewed divisions set a world record.

The past 13 National Day military parades have given the Chinese people confidence, honored the nation's soldiers and showed to the whole world China's resolve to safeguard its territory. For the 2009 parade, there is no doubt more high-tech weapons and well-trained forces will march before the Tian'anmen rostrum. However, the message China hopes to deliver to the international community has never changed: preserve world peace.