Tian'anmen, the front gate of the former Imperial Palace in central Beijing, has witnessed many significant moments in China's contemporary history. On Thursday, the list was expanded to include President Xi Jinping's first review of the country's armed forces.

China commemorated the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II and the victory of its war of resistance against Japanese aggression for the first time with a full-dress military parade.

Xi, also chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), reviewed the country's armed forces for the first time as China's top leader, an act normally reserved for National Day parades.

Riding in a domestically made, open-roof Hongqi limousine, Xi emerged from the Tian'anmen Rostrum under the clear blue sky of an early autumn morning. An estimated 40,000 spectators were seated on bleachers nearby and 12,000 servicemen and women were lined-up along Chang'an Avenue.

As the limo stopped in front of the rostrum, Xi was greeted by Song Puxuan, commander-in-chief of the military parade.

"Comrade chairman, the troops are ready, please review!" Song reported.

Wearing a dark grey, high-collared Mao suit, Xi reviewed the troops, voicing praises such as "Salute to you, comrades!" and "Comrades, thanks for your hard work!" The formations responded, saluting in unison and shouting slogans such as "Hail to you chief!", "Serve the people!", "Follow the Party! Fight to win! Forge exemplary conduct!".

Then he returned to the rostrum to watch the military parade.

Amid army songs performed by the military band, Xi inspected 11 foot formations and 27 armament formations from the People's Liberation Army (PLA), he observed two WWII veteran teams and ten echelons of aircraft flew over. Nearly 1,000 foreign troops from 17 countries also participated in the parade.

There have been 14 military parades in Beijing since 1949, but all were held to mark the founding of the People's Republic of China on Oct. 1, the country's National Day.

Foreign dignitaries at Thursday's parade include UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Russian President Vladimir Putin and President of the Republic of Korea Park Geun-hye.

Xi, who was elected general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee in November 2012 before becoming state president four months later, has made significant progress in various areas, including economic development, reform, party management, anti-corruption, diplomacy and national defense.

Two weeks after he took office, Xi defined the meaning of the phrase "Chinese Dream" as the revival of the Chinese nation, which quickly became a catchphrase summing up the nation's vision and aspiration.

Stressing the significance of China's victory over the Japanese invasion in WWII in his speech Thursday, the president said the great triumph re-established China as a major country in the world, created bright prospects for the great renewal of the Chinese nation and set the ancient country on a new journey, like a phoenix reborn from fire.