Something’s Happening in Beijing? Online Footage Shows Camouflaged Tank Convoy Passing Through Chang’an Avenue at Night

In July 2025, videos circulating online showed what seemed to be a tank convoy disguised and travelling through Beijing's Chang'an Avenue overnight. (Video screenshot)

[People News] Increasing evidence suggests that rumours of Xi Jinping losing actual power and being forced into retirement are not baseless. Amid intense power struggles within the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership, any disturbance in Beijing draws significant external attention. Recently, a video circulating online shows a fully camouflaged tank convoy allegedly moving through Chang’an Avenue in Beijing at night. Analysts suggest that Zhang Youxia's deployment of troops into the capital is highly unusual and may signal political instability in Beijing, possibly indicating something major has happened.

According to New Tang Dynasty Television, a video posted on Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book) shows a wide city avenue at night. Civilian vehicles are seen clustered on one side of the road, separated by barriers, while the opposite side appears blocked off, with only a suspicious convoy passing through. The convoy is led by a blue truck labelled "Road Inspection Vehicle." Although the following vehicles are similarly labelled, they clearly do not resemble ordinary engineering vehicles. These vehicles are completely concealed under metal-framed blue tarps, and even the wheels are fully covered by draped canvas. The covers have only small openings at the front and rear, and support structures can be seen through the rear windows. Alongside each suspicious vehicle on the right, there is a white van travelling with it. On the right side of the road, what appears to be personnel can be seen jogging alongside the convoy. At an intersection, vehicles flashing blue lights seem to be blocking traffic.

Netizens speculated — based on the shapes of the concealed vehicles and the engine noise — that the vehicles were likely tanks. One user noted, “If they weren't tanks, there’d be no need to cover the wheels.” Another remarked, “Tanks accompanied by large vans — this looks like a military deployment.”

Using the shape of the road barriers and surrounding buildings, netizens suggested that the video was likely filmed near the Wangfujing intersection on Chang’an Avenue — a highly sensitive location in Beijing that runs past Tiananmen Square.

The video’s timestamp is unknown, so it’s unclear whether this occurred recently. Some users said the footage came from Xiaohongshu, but the original post has since been deleted.

The CCP has officially announced a military parade in Beijing on September 3. Some speculate the tanks may be preparations for the event, though others argue that such preparations this early are unlikely.

Amid ongoing fierce power struggles within the CCP and a brutal purge within the military, the covert movement of tanks into the capital raises suspicions — has something major happened in Beijing?

Some netizens even mocked the situation, saying that tanks rolling through Chang’an Avenue evoke memories of “the flavour of June 4th, 1989.” △