Cheers and gasps could be heard around Beijing on Wednesday as China’s capital lit up with pomp, pageantry and patriotism for a massive parade showcasing the country’s latest military hardware.

Members of the public gripping Chinese flags lined the streets for the morning spectacle, while the few thousand who had tickets gathered from the crack of dawn in Tiananmen Square.

“This is the first time I’m attending a military parade. It’s magnificent to be here,” Jenny Wang, a 24-year-old civil servant, told AFP of President Xi Jinping’s show of force to the world.

“It’s important to commemorate the end of this war and to ensure that more people around the world learn about this conflict and the suffering endured by the Chinese at the time,” she added.

Guests posed with wide smiles for phot

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