Guards practice to equal 'almost perfect' hosts

An army marches on its stomach, Napoleon said, and 1,000 foreign soldiers stationed at a military base in Beijing ahead of Thursday's parade marking the 70th anniversary of victory in World War II have a choice of Chinese food or their national cuisine to get them through the rigorous preparations.

The soldiers, based in Changping district, 50 kilometers from Tian'anmen Square, are replacing calories with noodles, dumplings and dishes from their own countries as they practice from 7 am to midnight.

Military formations or honor guards from 17 countries are training at the Changping base and will march in Tian'anmen Square on Thursday in alphabetical order.

"My grandfather fought in the Great Patriotic War," said Anton Mikhailov, a Russian soldier who will be the flag bearer for his country on the big day. "He educated me in patriotism after the war and inspired me to join the army."

Anton said this will be his fifth military parade. All the previous ones were in Moscow's Red Square, including the last one in May.

"I've seen the city and the culture of Beijing. It's quite different from Russia, and the military parade in China is slightly different from those in Russia, but the meaning of them is the same."

Marching styles differ: Some countries prefer a straight-leg march while others adopt a less rigid style.

The honor guard from Serbia, for instance, is trying to match the rhythm of their marching style with the more orthodox goose-step of others.

"We have been working on it," said Colonel Vladimir Vukajlovic, chief commander of the 75-member Serbian formation,

Vukajlovic confessed that the biggest challenge is "to perform as well as the Chinese. Your soldiers are very well prepared, almost perfect", he said.

Praising the sports and training facilities at the camp as "the best that we've experienced", the Serbian chief commander said: "China and Serbia both performed heroically in World War II and we will maintain the tradition to ensure that our people stay free, as they are now."

Yang Yixi contributed to this story.

wangxu@chinadaily.com.cn