Military parade prep begins

China will implement temporary air traffic and air pollution controls on September 3, the day of a military parade to commorate the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. China's Civil Aviation Administration announced Saturday a series of security measures to prepare for the parade. Beijing Capital International Airport and Nanyuan Airport will be closed between 9:30 am and 12:30 pm on the day of the parade, according to the Xinhua News Agency. The purchase of aircraft has been banned in Beijing until August 21. Companies and individuals will also be prohibited from flying over Beijing in helicopters, gliders and hot air balloons or other aircraft from August 22 to September 4. The rostrum of Tiananmen Gate stopped receiving visitors on Saturday and will be closed to the public until September 7, following the refurbishment of the rostrum in late July for the parade. An explosion-proof layer was installed underneath Chang'an Avenue around Tiananmen Square in late July for security and air defense purposes. The Beijing government recently announced that they will take measures to ensure the air quality during the parade to match the high standards achieved during the 2014 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders' meeting. Beijing adopted special measures to control air pollution during last year's APEC meeting, including shutting down some of the region's more heavily polluting industries and giving Beijing government employees and the city's students a six-day holiday. Vehicles were limited to using roads on alternate days during the meeting based on whether their license plate ends with odd or even number, to reduce traffic jams and pollution caused by exhaust fumes. During the meeting, the density of PM2.5 particles - a key indicator of air quality - was reduced by 50 percent per day on average, media reported. According to the Hong Kong-based Ta Kung Pao newspaper, the People's Armed Police are undergoing intensive parade training in a military facility in Changping district, a suburban region of western Beijing. Replicas of the Tiananmen rostrum and Tiananmen Square have reportedly been built at the facility. Fu Zhenghua, vice minister of public security, stressed in a conference on Saturday that security measures should be strictly implemented during the commemoration events. China announced the details of the military parade in June. According to its plans, a column of Chinese troops will march in the parade. Troops from other countries have been invited to participate in the parade for the first time. Previous reports have said that Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Beijing to attend the military parade. It will be the first non-National Day military parade in Beijing since 1949 and the first military parade held since Chinese President Xi Jinping took office in 2013. The Chinese government established September 3 as a national holiday. The Shenzhen and Shanghai stock markets will be closed between September 3 and 5 so as to make way for the parade.