China celebrates 68th national day

China today celebrated its 68th national day, with over 115,000 citizens gathering at the Tiananmen Square in the heart of Beijing to take part in celebrations.
The crowd stood in silence as it watched the hoisting of the national flag after which the national anthem was played.
At the backdrop was a 17-metre-tall giant display in the shape of a floral basket, which holds flowers and fruits such as persimmons, pomegranates, apples, peonies and Chinese roses -- all symbolising a thriving and prosperous country, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
Watching the flag raising ceremony at the Tiananmen Square has been a way of Chinese celebrating the national day. Some joined the gathering for sight seeing, as several others assembled to express their patriotism.

The national day is celebrated with a week-long holiday, while the Chinese traditional Mid-Autumn Festival or Moon Cake Festival, featuring family gathering, falls on October 4 this year.
Major parks in Beijing have been decorated with around 1.6 million potted flowers of 150 different species, according to Beijing Municipal Administration Centre of Parks.

Traffic information from the Ministry of Transport showed that traffic on highways in Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai became heavy from 6 am this morning, as holiday goers rushed to scenic spots, the agency reported.
Today, the scenic area of the landmark Badaling section of the Great Wall in northern Beijing was opened earlier than usual to welcome holiday tourists.

Badaling, where the oldest sections of the Great Wall have been dated back to the Northern Qi Dynasty (550 - 557), is decorated with over 100,000 flowerpots to add the festive air for the National Day.
The ancient Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal opened its first transport hub today, marking the start of a modern transport era on the 2,500-km man-made waterway, the longest in the world.