The world's largest military just threw a massive parade to celebrate the end of World War II
Chinese President Xi Jinping kicked off the military parade with a speech from his car, during which he announced that troop levels would be cut by 300,000.
After the speech, Xi joined Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, South Korean President Park Geun-hye, and Russian President Vladimir Putin on a balcony above a giant portrait of Mao.
Most Western leaders declined attendance, sending lower-ranking officials in their place.
The parade celebrated the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, a time period marked in China by a brutal Japanese occupation.
The parade was an opportunity for China to bolster nationalism, as well as flex their military muscles amid tensions with their Asian neighbors in the South China Sea.
The maritime camouflage on armored vehicles showcases China's shift towards naval operations.
Though the army would be cut in size by 300,000 people, China's military is by far the largest in the world with 2.3 million members.
"We have the ability to announce to the world that we are a big country, we are a great country," an onlooker told the BBC.
During the parade, military trucks rode by carrying both male and female units.
About 80% of the machinery on display had never been seen before by the general public, including domestically produced ballistic missiles.
China was keen to show off their ballistic anti-ship missiles, like the "carrier killer" DF-26 pictured below.
Here's the DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missile, which China claims could potentially sink a US Nimitz-class aircraft carrier in a single strike. The US Navy's 10 aircraft carriers vastly outguns the Chinese, who only have one in operation.
For the first time, all the machinery on display would be Chinese made, with no foreign hardware allowed in the parade.
The display of domestically produced weapons signals a dramatic shift for China. The country recently became the third largest arms exporter in the world.
But the Chinese military is moving away from ground troops, and instead planning to focus more on their naval and air capabilities.
China's air power was also a point of pride, with their domestically made "Wing Loong" drone on display.
Also known as the Pterodactyl drone, the Wing Loong is a recent addition to China's Air Force. It carries anti-tank missiles.
China took pains to ensure that the skies would be clear and blue for the parade, reportedly ordering factories in Beijing to close in the preceding days.
Chinese J-10s streaked the clear skies with colorful smoke.
The sky was then filled with military helicopters.
Altogether, 12,000 troops and 200 vehicles rolled out for the parade, including envoys from 15 other nations.
At the end of the parade, thousands of doves were released, emphasizing China's message of peaceful strength, and remembrance of those lost in World War II.
You've seen the Chinese military parade ...
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