Flower beds adorn Beijing's Chang'an Avenue for V-Day commemorations

Ten themed flower beds were unveiled along Beijing's Chang'an Avenue to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, blending solemn historical remembrance with a vision of national rejuvenation.

These floral displays, with a theme focusing on remembering history, honoring martyrs, cherishing peace, and creating the future, have attracted crowds of residents and tourists for photos.

"I'm a tourist here from Pingxiang, Jiangxi. I came to see the magnificent landscapes and prosperity of our motherland. It's so beautiful and spectacular," said Xie Jianmei, a tourist from east China's Jiangxi Province.

Several sets of flower beds vividly recreate the epic tales of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, including two notable examples at Dongdan area.

One of these flower beds showcases a torch as its centerpiece, surrounded by elements such as sunflowers. It is adorned with words depicting the theme of the floral display and the years 1945-2025.

The second flower bed, featuring the Great Wall, artistically portrays the 14 years of the Chinese people's arduous and heroic resistance against Japanese militarist aggression.

While reflecting on history, the floral displays also showcase China's solid progress. At the Xidan intersection along Chang'an Avenue, four sets of flower beds highlight scenes of modern technologies, rural revitalization, and urban development, illustrating the country's prosperity and the well-being of its people.

One flower bed showcases China's developmental achievements and future vision through a display centered around scientists, workers, and farmers, portraying a prosperous scene that symbolizes the country's high-quality development.

Another bed highlights technological accomplishments through elements such as the Chinese research icebreaker Xuelong 2, also known as Snow Dragon 2, the Shenzhou-20 crewed spaceship, and a humanoid robot, reflecting the resolve to build China into a world leader in science and technology.

"It fills me with immense pride. I want to expose my child to these displays so that he learns to love our country as a young kid. I hope it will inspires him to study hard and grow into someone who can truly contribute to society and the country in the future," said Cui Xuerui, a tourist from central China's Hubei Province.

"In total, over 300 flower varieties were used in the flower beds along the Chang'an Avenue this time, and more than 100 of them are new and indigenous varieties. Among these, over 40 new varieties are making their debut appearance in the flower beds along the avenue," said Xu Xinnan, a staff member of the Beijing Municipal Forestry and Parks Bureau.

The decorations will remain on display following China's grand commemorative events as well as the military parade on Sept 3, and will last until the National Day holiday in early October.

Flower beds adorn Beijing's Chang'an Avenue for V-Day commemorations

Chinese spacecraft developers have accelerated development of the spacecraft for the country's Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceflight mission by five months — moving its launch from the original schedule in October to late May — achieving greater efficiency without compromising safety or reliability.

According to He Yu, general commander of China's manned spacecraft project of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, the accelerated development began shortly after the emergency launch readiness of the Shenzhou-22 last November.

"We have accelerated the development of the Shenzhou-23 spacecraft. It was originally planned for launch in late October, but has now been moved up to late May. In the six months since last November, we have gained five months of progress. This means the pace of work has been quickened by nearly one time," He said.

He further explained that a series of measures to ensure mission success have been adopted alongside the accelerated development, adding multiple layers of assurance.

"We have continued the proven measures that have ensured success in the past, which are fundamentally based on a sound product assurance system and strict process control. We have maintained high-quality assembly operations, continued to implement efficient and high-quality automated testing procedures, adopted a specialized flight control model, and maintained a full-process quality confirmation system to ensure reliability and safety of the product," He said.

The Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceship is scheduled to be launched at 23:08 Beijing time (15:08 GMT) on Sunday from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.

Chinese astronauts Zhu Yangzhu, Zhang Zhiyuan and Lai Ka-ying will carry out the Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceflight mission, and Zhu will be the commander, the China Manned Space Agency announced at a press conference on Saturday.

Chinese engineers move Shenzhou-23 manned spacecraft mission forward by 5 months while ensuring safety