Martyrs' Day observed across China

Besides Beijing, a series of memorial activities were held in other parts of China such as Liaoning, Jiangxi and Shandong provinces to mark the country's eighth Martyrs' Day, a day ahead of the National Day.

At the Chinese People's Volunteers (CPV) martyrs' cemetery in Shenyang, capital of Northeast China's Liaoning province, veterans, family members of deceased heroes and representatives of all walks of life stood in front of a martyrs' monument on Thursday morning.

At around 10 am, the national anthem was played and people paid silent tribute to the fallen heroes. Ten honor guards placed five flower baskets at the foot of the monument. Veterans and school students straightened the red ribbons on the baskets.

Seventy-one years ago, the CPV crossed the Yalu River and fought alongside the army of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, eventually winning the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea in 1953.

More than 197,000 CPV soldiers sacrificed their lives in the war. The names of the martyrs can be seen on a memorial wall at the cemetery.

"I will never forget my brothers in arms who fought side by side with me decades ago. The spirit of martyrs is immortal," said Li Weibo, an 89-year-old CPV veteran who participated in the activity on Thursday.

"The establishment of Martyrs' Day is a solemn commemoration of the fallen national heroes in the name of the country. They will be engraved upon Chinese people's hearts forever," said Wang Chunjie, who has worked for the CPV martyrs' cemetery in Shenyang for 17 years.