China’s National Day celebrations end with fireworks, singing and dancing

Fireworks lit up the night sky over Tiananmen Square on Tuesday evening, forming “70” and “Long live the people”, as more than 60,000 people from all walks of life took centre stage for a gala show.

Director Zhang Yimou, the filmmaker who oversaw a spectacular show in 2008 to open the Beijing Olympics, started the evening with a bang. Fireworks shot up 25 metres to form trees along Changan Avenue as a giant national flag rose slowly above Tiananmen Square. Fireworks director Cai Guoqiang, who created the huge footprints for the Olympics opening ceremony, also produced red stars, pigeons, smiling faces and blooms of flowers – all met with deafening cheers from the crowd.

The square was festooned with red lanterns, while two giant ribbon-like sculptures in the centre were illuminated, along with its buildings including the Great Hall of the People.

Performers took over the tightly guarded square and Changan Avenue in the heart of the capital, putting on a spectacular show that included patriotic songs and dancing. They held LED screens in sync to create colourful images, including scenery from around China.

President Xi Jinping and other prominent politicians were among those watching the show, and the Chinese leader waved to the crowd as the audience joined in to sing My Motherland and I.