Tian'anmen Square gets make-over for grand WWII parade

Beijing is repairing roads around the Tian'anmen Square ahead of the military parade on Sept. 3 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of Second World War.

The stone roads, built in 1958, are part of the city's main traffic artery. There are more than 60,000 stone slabs on the roads, each a meter long and weighing 350 kilograms, said Li Ming, a manager with the Beijing Road Maintenance Company.

A total of 215 damaged slabs need to be repaired or replaced. Work can only take place from midnight to 4 a.m to avoid affecting traffic.

New slabs will be brought from a factory in east China's Shandong province, where the original stones were made. The work will be finished by Friday.

The parade will feature domestic and foreign troops, and China's latest weaponry.