Rehearsals something to cherish for thousands of holiday celebrators

Monthslong rehearsals have become treasured personal memories for people taking part in Tuesday's grand parade in Beijing to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

"Joining this spectacle is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and it will be one of my most important memories," said Qiu Qian, a fruit farmer from the suburban village of Bajianfang in Beijing.

The 32-year-old will be among the more than 100,000 participants in the parade who will march past Tian'anmen Square. They will be divided into 36 formations escorting 70 floats.

Themed "farmland of hope", Qiu's unit has 2,269 people, more than half of them farmers and people working in agriculture. They will wave straw hats with green scarves attached to imitate a billowing wheat farm.

Qiu said the training began in early August, and they had rehearsed dozens of times. Three rehearsals were held at Tian'anmen Square.

"Marching during a sizzling summer was not easy for us, but nobody complained," she said. "It is a stage our country gives to us farmers. My heart was pounding marching past the square."