Update:
Gallery: Chinese national day fighters' show 2009, Beijing
Gallery:China's National Day fireworks show
This gallery is going to show the photos you can't find on CNN, BBC or Forbes.
2009 Chinese national day photos taken in Chinese eyes.
On 1949 Oct 1st Mao Zedong exclaimed: "The Chinese people have now stood up." "Never," he added, "will China be humiliated again."
Its 4,000-year history of national unity stretching back to the Emperor Qin Shi-Huang in the 2nd century B.C. But there was also the country's decline -- indeed, collapse -- over the course of the 150-odd years leading up to 1949.
No nation, no civilization, fell from so high to so low so quickly. As the Middle Kingdom, China correctly saw itself as the center of global civilization. Everything else was, to some extent, barbarian.
China's allure radiated outward. Its aura captivated Western imagination and admiration, recorded not just in the pages of Marco Polo's famous Travels from the 13th century but also in the accounts written by Jesuit missionaries from China in the 16th and 17th centuries and in the works of the philosophers of the 18th century European Enlightenment.
China was rich -- in both cultural and material terms. And its precipitous fall can be tracked through data on China's global economic standing.
In 1820, shortly before the First Opium War, China accounted for 33% of global GDP. By the time Mao entered Beijing, it had fallen to somewhere in the region of 3%.
Now China return to 7% of global GDP in US dollars 2008.
Cleaning the Changan Street for coming parade.
About 200,000 soldiers and civilians -- from veterans and athletes to space heroes and young people -- gathered in Tiananmen Square for the National Day military and mass parade showcasing achievements of the last 60 years, Xinhua reported.
More than 150 fighter jets, bombers, helicopters and other aircraft were to fly over the square, including a fly-past by China's first batch of female fighter pilots, state-run media said.
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A 1,300-member military band were also to make an appearance, according to Xinhua.
In order to ensure the success of the parade, Beijing decided to lock down the Changan street till 15:00. This is a Chinese style national day parade, no public allow to join the celebration of their country's birthday.
A lot of people sit in front of TV set to watch the celebration, for it's difficult for them to take public traffic system.
