Beijing Busy Preparing For National Day Celebrations 　　The People's Republic of China will celebrate its 50th founding anniversary on October 1 this year and the Chinese capital Beijing is stepping up the preparations for what is expected to be the most splendid and magnificent national day celebrations in decades. 　　"On October 1, a mammoth civilian parade with some 140,000 participants and a grand military parade will be staged in Tian'anmen Square. The square will also be the site of a 100,000 people get-together and a large fireworks display in the evening," said an official with the Beijing city government. 　　The selection and training of local residents who will participate in the parade and the get-together have been going on for weeks, while eight fireworks manufacturers selected through open bidding have started production, added the official. 　　Many local schools have introduced periods of physical exercise for their students in order to make them fully fit for the exhausting march through the city. 　　According to another source with the city government, the renovation project of Tian'anmen Square is also progressing smoothly, scheduled to be completed at the end of June. 　　"Now more than 50,000 square meters of the square has been covered with new paving flags and the blue metal fence now encircling the square will be dismantled soon," said the source. (Xinhua) HomeNews 1999-05-27 Page1 Full Story in Chinese