Beijing ready for National Day after four rehearsals

Anchor:

China's capital of Beijing is ready for an array of celebrations, including a parade and an evening gala, to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of new China, which falls on October 1st.He Fei has more:

Reporter:

Since the end of August, four rounds of rehearsals for the National Day celebrations have been staged at Tian'anmen Square in downtown Beijing.

Speaking at a news briefing, Beijing Deputy Mayor Ji Lin says the capital city is ready for the celebrations.

"The main task of the rehearsals was to improve the flow of the celebrations through coordination with different groups. The rehearsals helped us find problems and solve them in time. We achieved our goals after the rehearsals and are ready for the celebrations."

Ji said the mass pageant is made up of 36 formations and six performing groups involving about 100 thousand people.

They will be complemented by 60 simulated floats, and a background performance involving 80,000 primary and middle school students.

The highlights of the evening party will include a fireworks display which will last for 33 minutes.

Wang Yue, who is in charge of the mass pageant, says the parade will be accompanied by an open-air concert at Tian'anmen Square.

"People will see the performance of a 5,000-member musical group composed of a chorus, a folk music orchestra and a military band. They will bring us a refreshing performance."

During the National Day holiday, the city will also host various cultural activities including singing, dancing, exhibitions and drama shows. These will be held in about 1,000 parks throughout the city on October 2 and 3.

Meanwhile, the deputy mayor says Beijing is preparing to manipulate the weather to ensure that it does not rain on National Day.

"The Meteorological Department, experts and other related departments are working on a plan to prevent adverse weather. It's certain that we will take rain reduction measures to ensure that the celebrations go smoothly."

Public security authorities say Beijing will soon put in place tighter security and traffic controls for the upcoming National Day holidays.

He Fei, CRI news.