military parade measures september 3

Beijing Shuts Down More of the City Ahead of Sensitive September 3 Parade

Here's a list of everything that will be closed

With China’s September 3rd military parade now less than two weeks away, preparations are in full swing, and that means more closures and restrictions for Beijing residents.

The entirety of Tiananmen Square and the pedestrian commercial street Wangfujing will be completely closed this coming weekend to accommodate parade rehearsals, following the closure of the Sanlitun area this past weekend. A number of tourist attractions are also closed until the parade is over, including the Forbidden City and the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall.

military parade measures september 3

“The parade will mainly affect scenic spots, including the Palace Museum, National Museum of China, the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall, the Tian’anmen Rostrum and the National Center for the Performing Arts,” said Xu Xiaolei, a publicity officer for a Chinese travel service provider.

Seven Beijing parks will be closed during the rehearsals and the parade, including Chaoyang Park, Longtan Park, Honglingjin Park, Lotus Pond Park, Yaowahu Park, Taoranting Park and Yuyuantan Park. The nearby Qianmen commercial street will face entry restrictions on September 2 and 3.

Broadcast radio and wireless Internet signals will be banned in neighborhoods located around Tiananmen Square from midnight to noon on September 3, while amateur radio stations, campus broadcasting stations, and the use of radio-controlled planes have been banned throughout the city. Some 850,000 Beijing residents will be given public security responsibilities from August 22 until September 3 to assist in the preparations, said the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau.

Preparatory measures haven’t been limited to Beijing. In Shanghai, trains bound for Beijing will be guarded around the clock. As railway police officer Zeng Ji’an explained, “This is a temporary measure to prevent undesirables from trying to smuggle dangerous items onto the trains that serve Beijing.”

The military parade has affected a number of services and areas of Beijing, including shutting down the city’s airports, subway stations, restricting car use, and placing stricter security protocols on all mail and deliveries entering the city. At the same time, thousands of factories and power plants in Beijing and its six surrounding provinces will be shuttered in an effort to improve local air quality in time for the parade.

The military parade will commemorate the 70th anniversary of the victory in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, known in the rest of the world as World War II. It is being held on China’s newest holiday this year on September 3 which will serve as the beginning of a three-day holiday for Chinese workers.

Charles Liu

The Nanfang's Senior Editor