Military vehicles parade through Beijing

BEIJING (AFP) - – Hundreds of military vehicles, including tanks and missile carriers, rolled down one of Beijing's main streets Sunday to rehearse a parade marking the 60th anniversary of the nation's founding.

Tanks and military trucks, some carrying long missiles, followed one another down Chang'an Jie, the street that crosses the heart of Beijing, towards Tiananmen Square, an AFP reporter witnessed.

China is planning a parade, song and dance performances, and fireworks on October 1 to mark the day when revolutionary leader Mao ZedongMao Zedong proclaimed the founding of Communist China in 1949 at Tiananmen Square.

Beams from powerful spotlights spun in the sky over the square on Sunday as traffic around the city centre ground to a halt and thousands of onlookers watched from a distance the vehicles progressing at snail's pace.

The rehearsal began early Sunday evening and was expected to last much of the night.

China is due to unveil a range of previously unseen missiles during the National Day parade, including intercontinental ballistic missiles.

In the past several weeks, China has deployed thousands of extra police to monitor people and vehicles entering and leaving the city.

State media reports have said the security measures have been toughened in part due to riots in July in China's far western Xinjiang region by Muslim Uighurs, which the government said left nearly 200 people dead.

China typically cracks down on politically sensitive anniversaries to prevent any action by groups critical of the Communist Party's iron-fisted rule such as dissident groups and restive minorities including Uighurs and Tibetans