Four times in the last half-century, the portrait of Chairman Mao hanging above the Gate of Heavenly Peace in the centre of Beijing has been changed. At first it was a working-class Mao in flat cap. Now, in advance of tomorrow's gargantuan celebrations of the 50th anniversary of communist China, the authorities have produced a new image of the Great Helmsman to better represent modern China.
It shows a kinder, gentler, wiser, more grandfatherly but still with it Mao, someone the masses can look up to as not just the founder but the unifying figure for the world's most populous nation. Yet the parade tomorrow, in which no fewer than half a million people are going to participate, will for the first time in 15 years include a display of China's military might, as if to remind the world, especially after the humiliation of the NATO bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, that this is a great regional power not to be trifled with.
Armoured cars and tanks and guns will feature prominently in the procession, led by a model of the new Dong Feng-31 intercontinental ballistic missile. One hundred and sixty-seven aircraft, including the indigenous fighter-bomber "Flying Leopard", will roar overhead in echelon formations for six minutes and 59 seconds - the timing is that precise - as the parade passes the great reviewing stand on a re-paved Tiananmen Square.
Mobile telephone and pager networks in Beijing will be switched off from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. to cut electronic interference in the airwaves.
No expense has been spared to make the event a glorious day for China. Returning to Beijing this week after an absence of a month, I found a city transformed. The capital's streets have been cleared of beggars, the homeless, the mentally ill and migrant workers, millions of whom have been sent home.
The friendly man with no legs who solicited alms outside my building has gone, as have the gangs of casual workers on the adjacent building site. Rubblestrewn lots have been transformed into vast lawns. Ten million pots of chrysanthemums, marigolds and other blossoms have been marshalled in floral regiments on city pavements - 450,000 alone on Chang'an Avenue, along which the parade will pass.
Gleaming new multi-storey buildings have emerged from the chrysalis of dusty scaffolding. Commercial hoardings have been torn down and replaced with neon palm trees and communist slogans, the most catchy of which are "Stride Into a New Era!" and "Strengthen the Building of Socialist Spiritual Civilisation!"
A gleaming new airport is ready for visitors, the ribbon has been cut on a new subway line, and a new eight-lane ring road has been opened to traffic. The air of this usually polluted metropolis is almost pleasant to breathe, Beijing having ordered the smoke-belching steel plant at Shougang and 24 other factories to cut production.
The meteorological office has been instructed to make sure the weather is fair on the big day - a task for which they are employing balloons, crystals and a trust in statistics; it hasn't rained in Beijing on October 1st since 1988. An army of 660,000 mainly retired men and women wearing red arm bands has been deployed in streets and alleyways to ensure that nothing disrupts the biggest display of national pride in Communist China's history.
Nothing must go wrong. Everything will be controlled. Only approved spectators will be allowed to cheer spontaneously along the route. As the parade passes, the hundreds of balconies on 20 buildings along Chang'an Avenue, including foreign compounds, will be strangely empty; they are being sealed to prevent any displays of dissent such as throwing leaflets.
To demonstrate the more varied, human face of modern China, 75 recently married couples will form a contingent in the march past, and there will be a group of disabled people in wheelchairs. The official newspapers, which have been instructed to emphasise good news, have been regaling their readers with parade information, such as the fact that the oldest participant will be Ms Jia Xiu ling (71) and the youngest a two-year-old baby.
The Workers Daily has berated citizens for spitting, throwing garbage and stealing flowers on Beijing's equivalent of Fifth Avenue, Wanfujing, which has been given a facelift and turned into a pedestrian precinct at the phenomenal cost of 13.5 billion yuan (£1 billion). Fashion models will demonstrate China's new pret-aporter culture and roller-bladers will show off youthful recklessness.
"The performances will show the people have become masters of their own century and will demonstrate our strong determination to march into the 21st century," parade organiser Wang Lin said. "Security is one of our major concerns, not only for the smooth running of the celebrations, but also for the maintenance of social stability," he added.
The Chinese president and par ty leader, Jiang Zemin, who is also commander-in-chief of the armed forces, is expected to review the parade which also marks his 10 years at the top since the army crushed student-led demonstrations for democracy around Beijing's Tiananmen Square.
After it is over, Chinese people have been given a week off and the country will close down until next weekend.