Nearly 1,000 Chinese assembled to form huge characters in a slogan and the number 70 in the central province of Hunan on Sunday morning to mark the coming anniversary of the end of WWII.

Students, veteran soldiers and dance lovers were among the legion that gathered in a square in Changsha, capital of Hunan. It took them 15 minutes to form six characters meaning "Chinese should strive to be stronger" and "70."

Among the group were 10 soldiers who had participated in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. Most of them were in their 90s, according to Hunan Daily Press Group, organizer of the event.

"It was an amazing spectacle," said Luo Kangyi, a company representative who joined the show. "China must strive to be stronger, so must every single Chinese."

China has planned a series of activities to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII and the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. The culmination is a military parade in Beijing on Sept. 3 that will feature troops from 17 foreign countries.