Feature: Troops' long march to WWII parade perfection

Clutching a carefully polished rifle, Zhang Xianzeng stands at attention in the northwestern suburbs of Beijing next to a towering replica of Tiananmen Square's main rostrum.

Beads of sweat roll down his forehead into eyes fixed on the emptiness in front of him, as more uniformed soldiers goosestep past under a scorching August sun.

Zhang is one of more than 10,000 handpicked Chinese servicemen and women who have been following a punishing training regime for months for a special mission on Sept. 3 -- a military parade.

In just 10 days, they will march past the real Tiananmen (Gate of Heavenly Peace) in the heart of Beijing to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.

And it will be a spectacle. Eleven phalanxes of soldiers on foot, each named after a morale-boosting battle fought by Chinese war heroes, will march along the landmark thoroughfare Chang'an Avenue with impeccable coordination -- they are to parade past the nation's leaders on the square's Tiananmen in exactly 128 steps, each precisely 75 cm.

Next will come rows of rumbling tanks and vehicles mounted with missiles, drones and military armaments. Jet fighters and helicopters will fly in formation overhead, some trailing colored vapor. Foreign troops and WWII veterans, from both Communist Party of China and Kuomintang-led forces, will also join the parade.

The September celebrations will be China's highest-profile move to commemorate what it calls its victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. For many of the remaining war veterans -- most of them already in their 90s -- this could be the last anniversary they see.

More than 35 million Chinese were killed or wounded in that war. Even today, wartime memories still strain ties between Beijing and Tokyo.

Zhang's grandfather, Zhang Demin, joined an anti-Japanese guerrilla force near Shenyang in northeast China in his teens in the 1940s.

He was hit by shrapnel in 1948 when fighting Kuomintang troops near Shenyang. The shrapnel stayed lodged in his right thigh for 10 years, effectively crippling him for the rest of his life. He died in 2009.

"If he knew about me taking part in the parade, he would be so proud, I wish he were here," Zhang said.

"He always wanted to take part in a military parade himself. I guess I am living his dream now."

But dreams may be a luxury here in the suburban "Parade Village."

Li Gang from the "Five heroes of Mount Langyashan" phalanx has been training at the site for more than two months.

It has tested Li's fitness and precision to the limits.

Soldiers have been conditioned to stand motionless for a solid hour, and to be on their feet for three hours at a time.

Goosesteps are measured to the centimeter. Tanks and other vehicles, meanwhile, are required to drive straight forward at a uniform speed and keep a fixed distance from each other -- deviation of more than 10 centimeters will not be tolerated.

Li gets up at 6:15 a.m. everyday. His daily routine sees him and his fellow servicemen practice for what can seem like endless hours to hold their rifles at precisely the same level, synchronize their goosesteps and stand at attention in perfect alignment.

The standing is perhaps the most challenging, and boring, part. Li's coaches use string to create lines to regulate the troop formations.

Before he goes to bed at 10:30 p.m., Li could have spent 12 hours on the training ground.

Peer competition is also fierce. Reserves are ready to replace any trainee lagging behind. Zhang Xianzeng even had to reschedule his wedding ceremony to make time for more training in order not to fall into that trap.

Still, few question the necessity of such drills.

"Our commander trains with us. He is over 50 and he is not saying anything. So why should I complain?" Li Gang said.

Major General Zhang Haiqing from the Langyashan phalanx is one of more than 50 People's Liberation Army (PLA) generals who will spearhead the parade formations on Sept. 3.

"The parade training is about tenacity, discipline and coordination, all of which vital on the real battleground," General Zhang said.

"We train to put on a good show, to remind the spectators of those who shed blood and died on the oriental battleground, to defend history, and to remind the world of China's WWII contributions," he added.

The spectators may not realize how tough the preparation has been.

Beijing afternoon temperatures can top 30 degrees Celsius in August.

Dehydration and training loads prove to be the biggest enemy, as soldiers are asked to train in full battle gear to simulate the real show.

They can drink six bottles of water each morning, but they sweat so much that some don't even have to pee.

"Sometimes after the training, my boots are full of sweat and I have to pour it out so that they can dry overnight," Li said.

Some sprain ankles or knees in the training, but are reluctant to report their injuries to phalanx leaders, fearing they could get replaced.

"Taking part in a national military parade is a once-in-a-lifetime thing, and you don't want to regret missing it later in your life," Shen Dongdong from the armored assault vehicle phalanx said.

"You don't complain about getting hurt in a real battle, do you?" Shen said. "It's the same with the parade. It's not a real battle, but it's close, and it's worth it."

A half-day rest follows a whole week's training. Without Internet access, a game of pool in the lounge of their air-conditioned dormitory is perhaps the marchers' favorite pastime.

"Just 10 days to go till the parade!" an electronic screen in the lounge reads.

Many of the parade trainees are staying in the dormitories of a PLA military institution whose students are away on their summer vacation.

Hundreds of the institution's faculty members and their relatives still live on the campus. They are living with heavy security as a result of the parade training, but this is not exactly news for them.

"We signed a confidentiality contract," said Xiao, who runs a grocery store on campus. She would not give her full name.

All campus residents were asked to sign the contract forbidding them from visiting certain parts of the campus or taking pictures of soldiers for three months, according to Xiao.

But as long as they register their plate numbers, they can drive in and out of the institution at will. The campus hotel is also open to outsiders.

"There is nothing wrong with some secrecy," Xiao said. "They just want to give the world a big surprise."

Almost every week, the parade command headquarters organizes joint rehearsals for all 38 phalanxes. Sometimes the flying squadrons, stationed separately in nearby airports, also join in.

Although the military tries to keep the drills low profile, the task proves to be nothing less than a mission impossible.

Cellphone-taken pictures of military armaments, especially of aircraft in the fly-past, emerge on the Internet minutes after the drills are over every time.

"I saw the fly-past once. Awesome," said Chen Xin, a local restaurant worker.

"How did I feel when I saw the aircraft? Proud, that's for sure. I can't wait to see the real show," he added. Endi