国内英语新闻:15,000 military personnel to partake in National Day parade

BEIJING, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- The military parade for the upcoming National Day celebrations, which will take place in Beijing on Oct. 1, will involve around 15,000 military personnel, according to a group interview held by the office of the leading group for the military parade in Beijing Tuesday.

The scale of the parade will be the largest in recent years, said Cai Zhijun, deputy head of the office, during the group interview.

A total of 59 formations and a military band, including more than 160 aircraft and 580 pieces of equipment, will be featured in the parade, Cai said.

The parade will consist of two parts. First, the troops will be reviewed along Chang'an Avenue; then, airborne flag-guarding echelons, foot formations, armament formations and air echelons will pass through or fly across Tian'anmen Square. The parade will last for about 80 minutes, Cai said.

Foot formations are comprised of 15 formations of guards of honor, servicewomen, civilian personnel, reserve forces, militia, peacekeepers, among others.

A total of 32 armament formations will join the parade, including those of land combat operation, maritime combat operation and air defense and missile defense.

Bombers, naval aircraft, fighters and other weaponry will fly in 12 air echelons, according to Cai.

The personnel in the foot formations were selected according to certain requirements. Male personnel have a height between 1.75 and 1.85 meters and female personnel have a height between 1.63 and 1.75 meters, said Tan Min, executive deputy director of the office of the joint command for the military parade.

The age range for joining the parade is broad, Tan said, noting that the parade will see young soldiers in their 20s as well as senior commanders who are over 60 years old.

It is a vivid demonstration of the fine traditions of the people's troops to see that several generations of soldiers and officers are reviewed at the same time, Tan said.