Tens of thousands of people rose before the sun yesterday to commemorate the 57th anniversary of the dawning of New China at the traditional National Day flag-raising ceremony in Beijing's Tian'anmen Square.

The crowd trekked through darkness in the early hours of the morning, with most only managing to catch a distant glimpse of the event  but they were still happy to have been part of the celebration.

In a moment that was symbolic of the nation's development since the founding of the People's Republic of China, a sea of arms wielding cameras and mobile phones appeared across the square as People's Liberation Army troops raised the five-starred national flag to the strains of the national anthem.

The Xinhua News Agency said more than 220,000 people took part in the event.
Although Tian'anmen Square was packed almost to capacity, the crowd remained good-humoured, with some of China's youngest citizens getting the best view of the morning's events, perched on their parents' shoulders.

While most spectators had to make do with standing on the tips of their toes and craning their necks, some eager participants climbed nearby trees in a bid to get a better view of the proceedings.

Ehren Goossens, a 23-year-old business consultant from Vancouver, Canada, scraped his forearms while scaling one of the trees to get a better view.

This was Goossens' second time at the flag-raising ceremony. This year, he brought his friends to share the experience because he believes it is an event of historic significance.

"This is where a country was founded 57 years ago," he said, pointing to the Tian'anmen Rostrum where Chairman Mao Zedong announced the birth of the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949.

Goossens' sentiments were echoed by US teacher Matthew O'Flaherty, 24, who said: "It's cool to be here in a place where so much has happened."

O'Flaherty added that he was very impressed by the flock of 10,000 doves released across the square immediately after the flag was raised.

"The birds  that really rocked my world."

Thousands of other spectators were as impressed as the US visitor, applauding as the doves  a symbol of peace  flew overhead.

(China Daily October 2, 2006)