This October 1st will be the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China ("liberation" as it's affectionately known as here in China.) To celebrate, the government is having an old-school parade down Chang An Avenue (the big road that runs between Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City), complete with floats, tanks, soldiers, missiles, and aircraft flyovers. Nothing beats seeing tanks cruising the streets of Beijing.

The media here has been showing a lot of photos of the massive preparations for the event. I thought they were pretty cool and worth sharing.

They want nice straight lines and tall soldiers like this. (Actually, I think these are the armed police, not the army, but whatever.)

So, they use string to make sure everyone is lined up at the right height. (I'm sure this guy will be in trouble for smiling, but it's a great photo.)
 

A few pins in the right places to make sure everyone stands up straight.

They're marching so much, their battered boots are taking a beating.

The female soldiers get much cooler looking boots.

For more pictures, check out these galleries here and here.