New Delhi, May 19 (ANI): Millions of people in China and overseas observed three minutes silence at 2:28 p.m. Monday to mourn thousands of people killed in an earthquake which hit the nation's on May 12.
A nation-wide ceremony was held on 14:28 on Monday, exactly one week after a massive earthquake hit Sichuan.
Across the country, air raid sirens, cars, trains and ship horns wailed in grief as the people fell silent.
Chinese President Hu Jintao, top legislator Wu Bangguo, Premier Wen Jiabao, and other top leaders, including Jia Qinglin, Li Changchun, Xi Jinping, He Guoqiang and Zhou Yongkang also stood in silence in the central government compound of Zhongnanhai in Beijing.
At the Tian'anmen Square where the national flag flies at half-mast, thousands of people shouted "Brave and strong, China!" and "Brave and Strong, Wenchuan!" with some waving the national flags. Wenchuan county was the epicenter of the 8.0-magnitude quake.
Chinese bourses and commodities exchanges also suspended trading for three minutes in remembrance of the earthquake dead.
The three-minute remembrance is part of three-day national mourning for those who died in the killer earthquake.
The State Council, the Cabinet, on Sunday ordered flags to be flown at half-mast and all public entertainment suspended for three days.
National flags will fly at half mast, public entertainments will be cancelled and the Olympic torch relay suspended during the three-day mourning period.
Condolence books will be opened at the Foreign Ministry and Chinese embassies and consulates around the world.
Meanwhile, the magnitude of last Monday's quake was Sunday revised from 7.8 to 8 by the China Seismological Bureau. (ANI)
