The ceremony began at 10

The thundering boom of 60 cannons ringing through Tiananmen Square signaled the start of China’s National Day celebrations on Oct. 1. Shortly after 10:00am, China’s flag was hoisted under bright skies with 200 military police standing at attention. Liu Qi, the mayor of Beijing, then announced the national anthem would be sung. Rivaling the report of the cannons, hundreds of thousands people, including Hu Jintao, stood to sing in perfect unison. Then the official ceremony in honor of China’s six decades of unity began.