President Xi Jinping Leads Martyrs' Day Ceremony

President Xi Jinping paid his respects at a solemn commemoration Thursday to those who died in the struggle to establish Communist Party rule.

President Xi and the six other members of the Politburo Standing Committee led aged veterans and government and military leaders in paying their respects at the Monument to the People’s Heroes in the centre of Tiananmen Square while a military band played.

This year's ceremony follows commemorations of the centenary of the founding of the party in 1921.

Tiananmen Square and surrounding roads were closed off for the ceremony, which began with a trumpet fanfare, the singing of the national anthem and a minute of silence.

Martyrs' Day is commemorated on the eve of China's National Day. (AP)