BEIJING, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- China staged a grand celebration in Tian'anmen Square at the heart of Beijing Thursday, showcasing the strength and vitality of Chinese-style socialism over the past 60 years.

    President Hu Jintao and other Chinese leaders viewed the two-hour pageant, which involved nearly 200,000 servicemen and women and civilians, from atop the Tian'anmen Rostrum, where Chairman Mao Zedong proclaimed the birth of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949.

    A total of 60-gun salutes accompanied by the national anthem played by a 1,300-member military band and a solemn national flag-raising ceremony ushered in the beginning of the festivities.

    Wearing a Mao suit, Hu stood in an open-top black Red Flag limousine to review the military formations, which assembled along Chang'an Avenue, part of which has been widened and reinforced for the weight of heavy military equipment to be displayed in the National Day parade.

    "We must unswervingly follow the road of socialism with Chinese characteristics...and the reform and opening-up policy," Hu said in a speech atop the Tian'anmen Rostrum after reviewing the troops.

    "The development and progress of New China over the past 60 years fully proved that only socialism can save China and only reform and opening up can ensure the development of China, socialism and Marxism," Hu said.

    Hu said that all the Chinese people were "full of confidence" in the bright prospects of the great rejuvenation of the nation.

    Hu's speech was followed by a spectacular military march-past, which involved China's elite troops and most sophisticated weaponry.

A TRANSFORMED ARMY

    Wearing green, white and blue ceremonial or camouflage uniforms, more than 3,000 Chinese servicemen and women, goose-stepped past the Tian'anmen Square, drawing applause from spectators.

    A number of officers and soldiers in the parade are from troops that participated in the War of Resistance against Japanese Invasion in the 1930s and 1940s, and the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea in the 1950s.

    A total of 52 types of new weapon systems, all Chinese made, including new generation tanks, missiles and warplanes, were displayed. Ninety percent of the weapons were paraded for the first time.

    Among the most eye-catching weapons paraded were five types of missiles of the Second Artillery Force (SAF), China's core strategic deterrent, including the "trump card" nuclear-capable intercontinental missiles.

    The gigantic weapons in camouflage colors rolled by on long-bed trucks, triggering cheers from spectators.

    The SAF's land-based cruise missiles also made their debut at the once-in-a-decade military parade. The conventional cruise missile is able to perform long-range low altitude precision strikes. Also on rare public display were the SAF's three types of conventional missiles.

    During the cold war, China's survival was threatened by nuclear bombs from the world's super powers.

    To protect the country from nuclear threats, break nuclear monopoly and maintain national security, China began to develop strategic nuclear and missile weapons in the 1950s. The SAF was established in 1966.

    Over the past 40 years, the SAF has grown into a lean and effective strategic force with both nuclear and conventional missiles, capable of both land-based strategic nuclear counterattacks and precision strikes with conventional missiles.

    Following the ground formations, 151 warplanes ranging from China's most advanced J-10 and J-11 fighter jets to airborne early warning and control aircraft, bombers and aerial tankers, flew over Tian'anmen Square.

    Compared with the National Day military parade 10 years ago, Thursday's parade involved fewer personnel and more equipment, fewer Army troops and more troops from the Navy, Air force and the PLA Second Artillery Force.

    Lieutenant General Fang Fenghui, general director of the parade, said the formation of the phalanxes showed the ongoing transformation of the PLA from a labor-intensive to a technology-intensive force and its ability to carry out diverse military missions.

    Fang said the military parade would "showcase the PLA's firm determination to safeguard national security and interests and maintain world peace."

    Before the funding of New China, China had suffered from repeated invasions by foreign powers.

    In August 1900, the Eight-Power Allied Forces sent by Britain, the United States, Germany, France, Tsarist Russia, Japan, Italy and Austria lined up Tian'anmen Square for a military review after they forced their way into Beijing and looted the 3,000-year-old city.

    "That was one of the darkest moments in China's history, a huge humiliation. But I think that will never happen again. That's why we need a strong army and strong national defense," 23-year-old postgraduate Tang Liang, majoring in rocket design in Beihang University in Beijing, said after watching the parade on the Internet.

    SCIENTIFIC DEVELOPMENT

    Nearly 80,000 children holding colorful plastic wreath and flowers spelled out slogans as backdrops for the grand celebration, turning the vast Tian'anmen Square into a sea of color.

    After the giant military review, 100,000 civilians filed past the Tian'anmen Square in a colorful parade of 60 floats depicting the history of the People's Republic of China, the largest socialist country in the world.

    In the midst of the parade moved four giant portraits showing four generations of Chinese leaders, including the PRC's founder Mao Zedong, chief architect of China's economic reform Deng Xiaoping, former President Jiang Zemin and incumbent Hu Jintao.

    It was Mao who began to lead the nation to explore Chinese-style socialism.

    Their portraits were accompanied by different slogans, including "Chinese people have henceforth stood up" from Mao, "pushing forward reform and opening-up" from Deng, "adhering to the important thoughts of Three Represents" from Jiang and "implementing scientific outlook on development" from Hu.

    Scientific development, the current catchphrase in China, emphasizes caring about the well-being of people, promoting comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable development and balancing different aspects of social life.

    The doctrine was inscribed in the Constitution of the Communist Party of China (CPC) at the Party's 17th National Congress in 2007.

    Following the founding of the People's Republic of China on Oct. 1, 1949, there were doubts whether the Communist Party of China could govern and feed the poor continent-sized country with a population of 500 million.

    The country was put to severe tests. The War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea (1950-1953), three years of natural disasters (1959-1961), coupled with the aftermath of the Great Leap Forward plus the 10-year turmoil of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) have been among the major obstacles overcome.

The year 1978 is believed to be a watershed in reshaping China's fate and path as reformers led by Deng Xiaoping decided to open the country to the rest of the world and formulated a new economic model.

    Cheng Li, director of research of the John L. Thornton China Center of the Brookings Institution of the United States, said during the past six decades, China experienced terrible disasters, both natural and man-made.

    "What is truly remarkable is that despite all the pitfalls and problems of the past 60 years, the nation has not only survived, but is moving dramatically ahead and has emerged as an economic giant," he said.

    "Looking back over the past 60 years, we could notice that the so-called China model has an obvious feature, namely, the Chinese leaders and people could continuously amend their mistakes so as to achieve continuous development," he said.

    "As Deng Xiaoping said: wading across the river by feeling for stones. That's a very practical attitude and also China's own way of governing the country," he said.

    SOCIALIST VITALITY

    When the Communist leaders headed to Beijing in the cold spring of 1949 for the founding of the PRC, Mao told his colleagues that the trip to Beijing was like sitting a test and he hoped the Communists could get a high score.

    Sixty years later, Mao's successors turned in their answer sheet.

    China's gross domestic product (GDP) surpassed 30 trillion yuan (3.86 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2008, 77 times more than in 1952.

    China's illiteracy rate in the 15 to 45 age group has been brought down to 3.58 percent from more than 80 percent for Chinese adults when PRC was founded.

    Chinese people's average life expectancy increased from 35 60 years ago to 73 years now.

    The achievements were showcased by a massive civilian parade involving 43,000 people and 19 specially-decorated floats along Chang'an Avenue.

    Many Chinese celebrities showed up on the floats, drawing cheers from the spectators.

    Five astronauts including Zhai Zhigang, the first Chinese taikonaut to walk in outer space, appeared on a float.

    Zhai, dressed in his space suit, emerged from a simulated Shenzhou-7 capsule and waved a national flag, recreating his historical moment on Sept. 27, 2008.

    China has sent six astronauts into space since 2003 and plans to launch the Shenzhou-8 and Shenzhou-9 spacecraft in 2011. Zhai's20-minute space walk was believed to have helped pave the way for the country' s next space mission -- a space docking in 2011 and a manned space station in 2020.

    Sports stars and Olympic champions including star hurdler Liu Xiang waved to the spectators from atop floats, reminding people of China's Olympic glory.

    And there are ordinary people. Fan Aili, who joined the civilian parade, told Xinhua the most exciting thing for him was to perform on the same stage with his sister.

    "My little sister is in the women militia formation. I had never imagined that both of us could take part in the Naional Day celebration. That's a great honor for my family," Fan said.

    Chen Jiaqiang, a 20-year-old college student parader, said they gathered at school at midnight and arrived in Tian'anmen Square at 5 a.m.

    "We felt cold in the early morning, and some of us had to put on raincoats. But our enthusiasm has overwhelmed anything else," Chen said.

    Also on display were 34 floats representing mainland provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions as well as Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

    A total of 60 red lanterns and 56 huge 13.6-meter-tall columns, each representing a Chinese ethnic group, for the first time decorated the world's largest square.

    Marchers, dressed in unique clothes for different Chinese ethnic groups, danced to a well-known song eulogizing ethnic unity. Some dancers were from Tibet or Xinjiang, two autonomous regions that had witnessed riots and violences in the past two years.

    The float featuring "Treasured Island" Taiwan drew much attention from the spectators. Decorated with the Taipei 101 Towermodel and other landmarks, the float highlighted the improved cross-Strait relations between the mainland and Taiwan.

    "I am really shocked by the organizing work of the parade. The whole event proceeded very precisely and in an orderly way," said a Taiwan businessman, who only identified himself as Mr. Zhong.

    "It's a very rare opportunity to watch such a grand ceremony at such a close distance. I feel quite delighted," he said. His IT service company came to the mainland eight years ago.

    "I am more interested in the civilian parade that portraits possible ways for China's development in the future, as it's important to our children. Perhaps my children will also pursue their personal development in the mainland," he said.

    For the first time since 1949, a formation of foreigners joined China's National Day parade.

    More than 20 foreigners, wearing Chinese-style dresses or their national costumes, appeared atop a float themed "One World".

    The formation aimed to show that the Chinese people were praying for world peace and development, along with people from the rest of the world, organizers said.

    "Socialist China has found a vigorous road to modernization through wide and profound transformations, which demonstrate to the world the superiority and vitality of the socialist system," said an editorial of the People's Daily on Thursday.

    "Our great goals are to build a higher-level, well-off society that benefits more than 1 billion people by 2021, the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, and to build a prosperous, democratic, civilized and harmonious socialist modern country by 2049, the 100th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China," it said.

    For many Chinese, Thursday's anniversary parade means more thana chance to stir up their national pride, it is a declaration to the world that China was no longer haunted by various gloomy forecasts.

    The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, following the political turmoil in China in the summer of 1989, led Westerners to doubt the sustainability of China's "socialist road with Chinese characteristics".

    In 1994, Lester Brown, president of the Earth Policy Institute of the USA, painted in his report "Who will feed China" a gloomy picture, saying that the country with the largest population in the world would be inevitably become famine-stricken which would cause international chaos and bring havoc to the human race.

    Again, China's entry into the World Trade Organization in 2001 prompted Western scholars to question the sustainability of its economic development.

    Gordon Chang, a lawyer who worked for two decades in China and later became a naturalized U.S. citizen, predicted in 2003 the extreme difficulties the country faced would lead to the "coming collapse of China". According to his scenario, China could not sustain itself for five years and a total collapse was going to occur before the torch of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games was lit.

    Years have passed. The strong growth of China's economy, especially during the global economic downturn, runs contrary to the nonsayers.

    In his book titled "When China Rules the World: the Rise of the Middle Kingdom and the End of the Western World", Martin Jacques says that continental in size and mentality, China's long history, huge population, racial homogeneity and confidence in the centrality of its own civilization make for a country that will remain highly distinct and capable of redefining what it is to be modern.

    Hundreds of millions of Chinese watched the grand celebration on TV or the Internet.

    Online forums were abuzz with comments on the National Day celebration. More than 1.3 million netizens left comments on sina.com.cn, a major Chinese news portal.

    Many expressed their pride in the country's significant achievements and wished for a more prosperous and strong China. Some also said China is still facing severe challenges and 60 years is just the first step in the long march to the country's full rejuvenation.

    Outside China, the celebration also drew the attention of China watchers, who are trying to interpret the messages conveyed by the celebration.

    "I think China wants to convey to the world that China's coming-of-age is a reality, not a prediction," Li of the Brookings Institution said.

    (Xinhua reporter Miao Xiaojuan, Wang Chong and Tian Ye have contributed to the story)

The military parade, the biggest show in a decade of China's military prowess, has been under media spotlight as the world is watching the rising military strength of the world's third-largest economy.

    The parade, the 14th since the founding of New China, includes 56 square and echelon formations, signifying the unity and harmony among the nation's 56 ethnic groups.

    Among the eye-catching formations are the debuts of the Special Forces, three-service women soldiers, unmanned surveillance aircraft, women pilots, Armed Police's armored vehicles, and military logistics equipment.

    The show involves more than 8,000 soldiers from the land, naval and air force, Second Artillery Corps, Armed Police, army reserves and militia units.

    The soldiers have a minimum height of 175 cm for men and 163 cm for women, and most of them were born in the 1980s and 1990s. They drilled 10 hours a day over the past six to 12 months.

    Home-made advanced weaponry, including upgraded missiles, pre-warning planes, unmanned surveillance aircraft and new radar systems, will be shown.

    There are also a 1,300-member military band, a 2,100-strong adult choir and a 300-strong children choir.

    The military show is to be followed by a mass pageant made up of 36 formations and six performing groups involving about 100,000citizens.

    It also includes 60 floats, and a background performance involving 80,000 primary and middle school students on Tian'anmen Square in the center of Beijing.

    The pageant showcases the development of various fields such as agriculture, industry, transport, energy, sports, education, and population and health.

    Tens of thousands of doves, symbols of peace, and 50,000 colorful balloons are to be released at the end of the grand celebration that is scheduled to last about two hours.