Parade soldiers are undergoing intensive training at a military base on the northern outskirts of Beijing in preparation for the massive military parade on September 3 to mark the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II.

Hundreds of soldiers, including honor guards, China’s UN peacekeepers and militia units, were completing drills under the scorching sun on Wednesday afternoon, to achieve perfect synchronization.

“The military parade training itself is an important part of the daily training of the troops, and the participating units already have the training fundamentals,” said Xu Guizhong, an officer of the People’s Liberation Army said at a news briefing on Wednesday.

“We concentrate our troops mainly for standardized and refined training and further forging their combat style. Through short-term intensive training, we can achieve training targets,” he said.

Military officers overseeing the training said advanced technologies, including AI, are being used this year to enhance precision.

“We used AI and other auxiliary tools to analyze the formations deviation so we know where to improve. We can say that our parade training is getting better and better through a scientific and strict training process,” said Zhang Xu of the PLA.

PLA officers at a news briefing said the parade will also unveil the newest weaponry, including hypersonic weapons and a range of electronic gear.

“Some land, sea, and air-based strategic heavy weapons, advanced precision warfare, unmanned and anti-unmanned equipment are also being showcased for the first time - fully demonstrating our military's strong ability to defend national sovereignty, security, development interests, and maintain world peace,” he said.

The parade, the second such procession since 2015 to mark Japan’s surrender, will feature marching units, armorer columns and aerial units.

AP video by Olivia Zhang and Borg Wong