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Beiqi Foton Motor, a commercial vehicle subsidiary of Beijing Auto, sold the chassis of its National Day parade floats at a charity auction on Nov. 3, Xinhua News reported.
The 23 huge floats were specially made by Foton Motor for the latest Oct. 1 National Day parade in Beijing to celebrate the 60th anniversary of New China. These vehicles highlighted the day"s mass gala after Chinese President Hu Jintao rode in a FAW-made new Hongqi (Red Flag) HQE limo to inspect a military parade.
The proceeds from the chassis" auction, totaling 3.5 million yuan ($512,000), would go to China Health and Medical Development Foundation and other Chinese charity organizations, said a spokesman for Beiqi Foton Motor, producer of the chassis and host of the auction.
Foton produced the chassis for 42 out of the 60 floats used in the parade on October 1, 2009. The company sold 19 of them to provincial and municipal governments before the parade and rented the rest to the event"s organizer. The 60 floats were displayed at Tian"anmen Square after the celebration.
"I am glad to get two chassis at the auction," said a bidder with a logistics firm based in east China"s Lianyungang city. "The chassis are of high quality and high technology. Besides, the donation auction is meaningful."