The commemoration was the first high-profile military parade held to celebrate an occasion other than the National Day of the People's Republic of China.

Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping inspected the troops, Premier Li Keqiang was the master of ceremonies and General Song Puxuan was the chief commander of the parade.

The most prominent renditions of the parade were held in 1959, 1984, 1999, and 2009, presided over respectively by then leaders Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin, and Hu Jintao.

Bloomberg reported that the central government once again intervened in the stock market to ensure stability ahead of the anniversary; there were traffic curfews and closures of public facilities including seven parks and some hospitals.

[1] The city authorities sent in trained macaques and falcons to make sure the skies over central Beijing were free of birds that would put the flypast at risk.

Hot air balloons and hang gliders were equally barred from the city; those residing along Chang'an Avenue were forbidden from opening their windows during the lock-down period.

China Central Television ceased the broadcasting of all entertainment programming, only playing films and TV series about the Second World War.

[1][10] The factory shut-downs and road closures gave rise to rare instance of clean air, where PM2.5 measurements were below 50, and the lack of traffic jams, and these were welcomed by residents of the capital.

[11] Observers noted that the umbrella, which became iconic in Hong Kong during the protests in 2014, were nowhere to be seen despite the blazing heat although commonly used as a shield against the sun in China.

Xi delivered the keynote address at the parade with an unexpected announcement of a plan to cut 300,000 personnel from the Chinese military.

Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council, President Ma Ying-jeou and his Kuomintang objected to the event and what they see as the CCP usurping credit for leading the Chinese defence against Japan during World War II.

[38][39] However, former Chairman of the Kuomintang Lien Chan also attended the parade, ostensibly in his personal capacity, sparking controversy at home.

He stated that China should consider about the international society's worry as a UN security council member with inviting or assisting someone who is wanted under the document of warrant signed by ICC.

This was the first time in PRC's history that military parade contingents were led by officers ranked as high as lieutenant general.

Representative detachments from each Chinese military region participated in the parade, led by soldiers carrying standards used by the predecessor units.

These represented the following CCP formations during the war against Japan: A detachment of the People's Armed Police also participated in the parade, the unit having previously been part of the PLA.

Self-propelled Red Arrow 10 anti-tank guided missile vehicles with anti-helicopter-warfare, fire and forget and man-in-the-loop capabilities were also paraded.

China's Ministry of National Defence spokesman Yang Yujun said that the cuts to the size of the military would include personnel not trained for battle.