Cannons rolling in for parade to mark victory

The first 12 cannons that will be used for a salute at the September parade marking the 70th anniversary of victory in China's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1937-45) have arrived in Beijing and were delivered to the Armed Police Force's gun salute squadron, according to their manufacturer.

"The first group of guns departed from our factory on Sunday afternoon and have been handed over to the gun salute squadron. Now we are assembling the rest of the 60 guns and will deliver them to the squadron by the end of this month," Liu Guihong, publicity head at the Shanxi North Machine Building Co in Taiyuan, Shanxi province, told China Daily on Monday.

"The gun is an upgraded version of our Type-08 gun that was fired at welcome ceremonies during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia last year in Shanghai," he added, noting more than 200 workers at his company are taking part in the production of the 72 guns due to be used at the September parade.