Tian’anmen gets early makeover for grand parade in September

The annual repainting of the red walls in Tian’anmen Square and repairs to surrounding roads has begun early this year ahead of the grand parade on Sept 3 marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.

为迎接9月3日庆祝抗战胜利70周年阅兵仪式，每年一度的天安门广场红墙和周边道路的粉刷修缮工作提前启动。

Repairs to the stone road crossing the square that was built in 1958 are expected to be completed on Friday.

?穿过广场的石路建于1958年，其修缮工作预计在本周五将完工。

The original 350-kg stones in the road came from Laizhou, Shandong province,－the same origin as the 64,000 stones now in use, said Zhang Aijun, head of the municipal transportation commission’s urban road maintenance office, in an interview with Beijing Television on Sunday.

上周日，北京市交通委员会城市道路维护办公室主任张爱军在接受北京电视台采访时称，路上350kg重的石头来自山东莱州，其他正在使用的64000块石头都来自那里。

Side roads around the Great Hall of the People, another key venue on the parade route, are being given an ultrathin asphalt topping.

人民大会堂旁边的道路上铺了一层超薄的沥青，这段路也是阅兵路线上的重点路段。

All of the roadwork is done between midnight and 5 am to avoid traffic and huge crowds of visitors.

所有的道路施工都在午夜到凌晨5点之间进行，以避开交通和拥挤的游客。

Work on the red walls of the Tian’anmen Rostrum began on July 20, and most of it had been finished by Sunday.

天安门城楼红墙的粉刷工作在7月20号开始，大部分工作在上周日已经完工。

Each year, for about a month, usually starting in late August, the rostrum and other buildings in the square are repainted for National Day, which falls on Oct 1. But this year, the work started well in advance.

为迎接10月1日的国庆节，每年8月底，天安门城楼和广场周边建筑都将启动为期一个月的修缮工作，今年修缮工作提前开始。

President Xi Jinping will speak at the parade and present medals to veterans or their family members. Some overseas countries will send representatives to take part in the event for the first time.

国家主席习近平将在阅兵仪式上发表讲话，并表彰老兵及家属。外国也将首次派代表参加这次阅兵仪式。

Qu Rui, a major general and deputy director of the Parade Steering Group Office, said it is also the first time that the Chinese mainland has invited Kuomintang veterans to the parade.

阅兵领导小组办公室副主任曲睿少将介绍，这也是大陆首次邀请国民党老兵参加阅兵仪式。

Guo Xianjin, a 27-year-old visitor from Shanghai, said the renovations had hardly affected tourists in the area.

27岁的郭献进是来自上海的游客，称修缮工作几乎没有影响到天安门的游客。

"It’s good to have regular maintenance work in the square," said Guo, who has visited the rostrum three times.

“广场的日常维护工作非常好。”郭献进曾三次参观过天安门城楼。

Song Jianhong, 22, from Liaoning province, agreed that the work had caused little inconvenience, and praised the earlier preparations for the parade.

22岁的宋建宏来自辽宁省，同样认为修缮工作几乎没有带来什么不便，并称赞了阅兵仪式前的准备工作。

"The parade is a good opportunity to present the truth and show China’s growing power, so we need the square to be clean and beautiful," he said.

“阅兵仪式对于还原历史真相，并展示中国日益增强的国力是很好的机会，因此我们需要一个漂亮崭新的天安门广场。”他说道。

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来源:China Daily爱语吧作者:孙梦光