China concluded its high-profile V-Day parade at about 11:40 a.m. Thursday, with about 70,000 white doves and 70,000 balloons released into the sky over Tian'anmen Square in central Beijing. [Special coverage]
President Xi Jinping and other Chinese and foreign leaders were seen waving to around 40,000 spectators from the Tian'anmen Rostrum, when the patriotic song "Ode to the Motherland" resonated.
About 12,000 troops, World War II veterans, and nearly 1,000 foreign troops from 17 other countries marched in the parade, marking the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.