Top fashion designers from France, Italy and Denmark, together with their Chinese counterparts will hold a fashion show on the night of August 23 in Beijing's Tian?anmen Square -- the first time the square has staged such an event, Wednesday's Beijing Morning Post reports.
Called "the heart of China", Tian?anmen Square used to be the front yard of the Forbidden City where emperors of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing 1644-1911) dynasties lived. Even an empress used to have only one chance to walk down the square in her lifetime -- on her wedding day.
The fashion show, which opens the "2002 Moda Beijing" series of events, will be held in the east part of the square, with a platform covering 600 square meters and over 800 performers. The performance is expected to last 3 hours.
An official from the organizing committee said that they hoped the "Moda Beijing" fashion show would be noticed by the world along with those of Milan, Paris, New York and London.
(Xinhua News Agency August 7, 2002)