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The world’s attention turned toward Beijing on September 3, 2025, when a sweeping formation of soldiers marched onto the Tiananmen Square parade ground not under the familiar banners of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) ground forces, the navy or the air force, but beneath a new flag: the Military Aerospace Forces. The block of glossy, silver‑gray uniforms and gleaming launch‑vehicle mock‑ups marked the first public appearance of the 军事航天部队方队 – the Military Aerospace Forces Formation – and, for the first time, the force was presented as a distinct strategic branch of China’s armed services.

A clip that has been circulating on Chinese social media for the past few weeks shows a foreign reporter wiping tears from his eyes after the conclusion of a massive military parade in Beijing. The short video, posted on Weibo and reposted by several state‑run outlets, sparked a flurry of comments ranging from admiration of the display’s technical precision to disbelief that an outsider could be moved to such an emotional response.

When China staged its grand military display on September 3, 2015, to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory over Japan, a surprising side‑effect lit up the menus of pizza chains just outside the Pentagon. Domino’s and Papa John’s reported order volumes that were three to four times higher than normal, a spike that coincided with the hours when the Department of Defense’s analysts were glued to live feeds of the parade. The phenomenon, now colloquially rendered in Mandarin as “阅兵时五角大楼附近披萨订单激增” – literally, “pizza orders surge near the Pentagon during the military parade” – has become a quirky benchmark for gauging the pace of work inside America’s most secretive office.