China bans pigeons and drones in Beijing ahead of 70th anniversary

Beijing skies will be clear for the next few weeks as authorities have banned flying kites, drones, pigeons and balloons as the capital prepares for enormous celebrations to mark 70 years of Communist Party rule on Oct 1.

Any airborne activities that could affect flight safety – including sending lanterns into the air – are all prohibited in seven of Beijing’s 16 districts through the National Day holiday.

The city centre has been on lockdown during recent weekends for nighttime military parade rehearsals, with huge avenues closed to vehicle and pedestrian traffic so troops can stomp through Tiananmen Square, the symbolic seat of power.

The square itself was also closed over the weekend to tourists, and some subway stations and buildings along the parade route are restricted to the public during certain times.

Aside from a massive military parade, the celebrations will include a speech by Party leader Xi Jinping, performances, a fireworks show, and what has been described as a “mass pageantry” involving 100,000 people.

A select 30,000 people, including “outstanding Party members, model civil servants and workers” will be invited to watch the extravaganza.

Earlier this month, some bars and nightclubs were ordered to close in order to ensure no bar brawls occur around the big anniversary.

Elite Chinese officials, who typically value stability above all else ahead of such sensitive political dates, are facing a number of challenges this year, including a protracted trade war with the US, a slowing economy and anti-government protests in Hong Kong.

Human rights activists often disappear around these times as Chinese authorities clamp down on possible opposition.

Officials also order factories to close to ensure a backdrop of clean air and blue skies on the holiday.

Beijing marks each anniversary decade with a military parade, and this year is expected to be the biggest-ever – even larger than one in 2015 that commemorated the end of World War II when 12,000 soldiers marched.

The National Day holiday commemorates the founding of the People’s Republic of China on Oct. 1, 1949, when Communist forces took power after defeating Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalist army in a brutal civil war.

General Chiang retreated to the island of Taiwan, setting up a rival government called the Republic of China. Taiwan today is a self-governed and democratic, though Beijing still regards it a renegade province.