Beijing's preparations begin long before the parade starts

A prisoner shops online at Anhui Reformatory for Juvenile Delinquents in Hefei, capital of the province. [Photo/Xinhua]

China's top legislature has adopted a prisoner amnesty deal which will see thousands of war veterans as well as very old, young or infirm prisoners granted official pardons, in a move marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.

The deal, promulgated by President Xi Jinping, comes 40 years after China granted an amnesty to war criminals in 1975, and 56 years after it granted its first pardon to non-war criminals in 1959.

This is the eighth amnesty since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.