SHIJIAZHUANG, Aug. 28 -- North China's Hebei Province joined Beijing in curbing traffic Friday to clean the air for the Sept. 3 military parade commemorating the end of World War II.

More than a dozen major cities in Hebei, including provincial capital Shijiazhuang, Tangshan and Baoding, will limit traffic in the eight days starting Aug. 28, the provincial traffic police department said.

The other cities which are farther from Beijing will limit traffic between Sept. 1-4, it said.

In most urban areas of the province, vehicles are allowed to drive every other day based on their odd or even license plate numbers.

To safeguard clean air in the Chinese capital, Hebei, Beijing, Tianjin and four other regions shut down or reduced production at more than 10,000 factories and halted work at nearly 9,000 construction sites from Friday.

China has scheduled a series of events to mark the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, culminating in the military parade in Beijing.

The parade will feature domestic and foreign troops, and China's latest weaponry. Receptions and a gala will be held in Beijing to mark the occasion. Events will also be staged in other parts of China.

Sept. 3 this year is a national holiday.