BEIJING, Aug.15 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao Sunday paid a silent tribute to victims of a massive mudslide in Zhouqu County in northwest China's Gansu Province, as thousands of soldiers are still battling for rescue and disinfection efforts in the county.
Former President Jiang Zemin and other Chinese leaders including Wu Bangguo, Wen Jiabao, Jia Qinglin, Li Changchun, Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, He Guoqiang and Zhou Yongkang Sunday also lamented the death of the mudslide victims.
China declared Sunday as the national day of mourning for mudslide victims in Zhouqu County, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. The mudslide, which took place on Aug. 8, has killed more than 1,200 people and left 500 more missing.
At 10:00 a.m., thousands of rescuers and villagers stood still on the debris of mudslide at the Dongjie Village in Zhouqu, bowing their heads in commemoration of those killed in the disaster.
Chinese national flags across the country and at overseas embassies and consulates were lowered to half-mast to mourn those killed in the mudslide. All public entertainment was ordered to be suspended in a show of mourning.
At Tian'anmen Square in downtown Beijing, thousands of people watched the national flag being hoisted to full height and then lowered to half-mast early Sunday morning.