Deep-sea drones and an intercontinental ballistic missile were among the advanced weapons on public display for the first time at a parade marking 70 years of communist rule in China.
According to the Ministry of National Defence, about 15,000 military personnel, 580 pieces of military equipment and 160 aircraft featured.
Military march-pasts on a grand scale have a long history in the country.
But experts say this year's display showed China's ambitions to modernise.
"It was Russian and Ukrainian equipment at these parades 20 years ago - now everything is made in China," Jon Grevatt of Jane's Defence Weekly told the BBC.
"The technological advancement that China has achieved is almost unprecedented."
Follow live updates throughout the day here
China brings out the big guns for birthday
Warfare has become increasingly information-driven in recent years - about networks rather than just systems.
This is reflected in the variety of unmanned systems on display in Tuesday's parade in Beijing, says BBC defence correspondent Jonathan Marcus, "in many ways the 'poster weapon' of new-age warfare".
A float with an emblem of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (R) passes through Tiananmen Square during the National Day parade in Beijing on 1 October 2019, to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Peoples Republic of China.Image copyrightAFP
Presentational white space
For China, experts say today's parade is also a show of strength to the US.
"We have to remember that China's claims to territory are driving this - and many of these places happen to be claimed by US allies like Japan, and nations in the South China Sea," says Mr Grevatt.
At its heart is a strategy known as known as "anti-access area denial".
Our correspondent says it is exemplified by the DF-26 ballistic missile which, fired from land bases, is believed to have the accuracy to strike at the key element of US power projection, the US Navy's aircraft carriers.
This latest parade also saw the first public display of a newer model - the DF-41 road mobile intercontinental ballistic missile - which Chinese analysts say is able to target any part of the globe.
Military vehicles carrying the DF-41 intercontinental ballistic missile roll through Tiananmen Square in Beijing during a military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, on 1 October 2019.