President Xi Jinping delivers a speech at the Tian'anmen Rostrum before the parade marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, Sept 3, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua]

A PARADE FOR UNITY

Excitement and thrill filled Tian'anmen Square as the PLA guards of honor and 10 foot formations - each named after a morale-boosting battle fought by Communist-led troops or Chinese war heroes and model combatants - marched by in impeccable synchrony and coordination.

Soldiers, drilled to perfection for months, barely blinked as they goosestepped past the Tian'anmen Rostrum in 128 carefully measured paces, each precisely 75 cm.

But the highlight for many of the 40,000 audience present and hundreds of millions more who watched the parade on television or via Internet was the first-ever participation of foreign troops in a Chinese military parade in Beijing.

Nearly 1,000 foreign troops from 17 countries marched at the heels of their PLA counterparts, drawing cheers and applause.

It was the first time that foreign troops had been invited to a Chinese military parade at the Tian'anmen Square.

Sara Imas in Shanghai was watching the live-show of military parade. The 65-year-old Jewish woman was born in Shanghai. Her parents came to the Chinese city in 1939. They were among 30,000 refugees who migrated from Europe during the war.

"Chinese put themselves in our position and offered help to us in the most difficult times," Imas told Xinhua. "So I am proud of the military parade."

Chinese people's empathy with Jewish refugees stemmed mostly from their own pains inflicted by the Japanese aggression.

China was the first country to face the onslaught of the Axis Powers in 1937, two years before Britain and France, and four years before the United States, Rana Mitter wrote in her 2013 book "Forgotten Ally."

But China's anti-fascist war began even earlier actually. On Sept. 18, 1931, Japanese army invaded northeastern China, marking the starting point of the Chinese people's courageous fight against fascism.

In the 14 years that followed, countries including the former Soviet Union and the United States among others, all came to China's aid in its struggle for national freedom.

A female medical soldiers' formation was named after Canadian surgeon Norman Bethune to honor his contribution to Chinese people's fight against Japanese aggressors.

Jay Vinyard, an allied pilot who flew supplies to Chinese forces over the Hump Route during WWII, said China's war commemorations were a rare chance for wartime pilots to meet again.

China and the United States should join hands to achieve peace and stability in the world, he said.

"All eyes are on the parade in Beijing," 22-year-old four-time Red Square parader Anton Mikhailov told Xinhua prior to the parade.

"Our parade on Red Square in Moscow and this parade in Beijing are both for the same things: to show that we remember our losses and our victory; to demonstrate our nations' strength; and to tell the world that the two allies that had fought shoulder to shoulder will join hands for a better future," he said.