Song penned for 70th anniversary parade hits the right note

The united military orchestra struck up, the troops began to move, and then a chorus of 3,000 university students began to sing in unison. This was what people experienced at the military parade to celebrate the People's Republic of China's 70th anniversary on Oct 1 in Beijing.

The song they performed with the orchestra, Please Inspect, was the only piece composed especially for the event-all the others accompanying the parade were adapted from old tunes.

Composer Zhao Lin says: "The opening section features wind instruments, which help to convey a sense of the Chinese army's prestige. The second part of the song reflects the tough image of the army. Drums are also used to encourage people to continue to make progress."

Speaking about the lyrics of the song, Zhao Daming, its librettist, says: "The lyrics were written in the first person, showing a soldier's toughness, his loyalty to the Communist Party of China, his love for the motherland, his contribution to benefiting people and his eagerness to receive inspection from Party leaders and the Chinese people.

"However, the song doesn't symbolize just one person, but the image of the whole Chinese army," says Zhao Daming. Zhao Lin and Zhao Daming collaborated to create a song on the basis of a musical concept they devised "to show the Chinese army in the new era and celebrate the 70th anniversary of China's establishment".

Sina Weibo user Erloucun says: "I have listened to this song repeatedly. It is very well written, and expresses my heartfelt feelings, maybe other's as well. Our lives really are getting better, and I love my motherland."

Many listeners shared this sentiment, while others found the song exciting. One user on music streaming platform NetEase Cloud Music says: "I was driving a car when I heard this song, and the sense of power in this song made me feel like I was driving a tank."

"Listeners can form their own understanding about the song, which is the beauty of music," says Zhao Lin.

He says he was at the military parade and heard the student choir sing it. He was happy with their performance. "As a military song, it is not an easy one for students to perform, as they are more used to singing pop songs. They also had to stand for four to five hours before their performance that day, but they still conveyed the sense of power in the song. They worked really hard," he adds.

Zhao Lin and Zhao Daming started working on the song in April, and continued to modify it to fit in with the procedures of the parade until September. They also attended several rehearsals of the military parade to ensure the song perfectly suited the occasion.