During the National Day military parade of 1954, Minister of National Defense Peng Dehuai reviewed the troops. Yang Chengwu was the parade Commander-in-Chief, and a total of 10,384 officers and soldiers attended the parade.

Judging from the organization and equipment of the inspected troops, the construction of the people's army had entered a new phase. The inspected troops included 38 divisions from military colleges, public security forces, marine, infantry, cavalry, motorized infantry, artillery, tank forces, and an air force as well as four flight echelons. This indicated that the army’s navy, air force and special troops had developed very fast, and the PLA had become a troop with a variety of services.

The equipment mainly included: 120mm heavy mortars, 57mm anti-tank guns, 76.2mm field guns, 122mm howitzers, 132mm rocket launchers, searchlights, 37mm and 85mm antiaircraft guns, 152mm gun howitzers, 122mm Self-propelled artillery, C-2 male tanks, T-34 medium tanks, Tu-4 heavy bombers, MiG -15 bis fighters and other equipment. All of this equipment was basically designed by the Soviet Union.

(China.org.cn, CCTV August 13, 2009)