Tens of thousands gather at Tian'anmen Square in Beijing to honor the Communist Party of China's astonishing achievements on its 100th anniversary

Guards of honor, students and other participants stand in Tian'anmen Square during the celebration. (JU ZHENHUA / XINHUA)

People wave national and Party flags in front of a big screen. (KUANG LINHUA / CHINA DAILY)

Members of military bands attend the celebration. (LI HE / XINHUA)

Military airplanes fly over Tian'anmen Square during the celebration marking the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China in Beijing on Thursday. (LI XIANG / XINHUA)

A ceremony is held to raise the national flag during the celebration. (CHEN YEHUA / XINHUA)

Members of a chorus sing during the celebration. (JIN LIWANG / XINHUA)

A 100-gun salute is fired on the square. (MENG TAO / XINHUA)

People wave national flags while watching military aircraft fly overhead in a "July 1" formation. (ZHANG CHEN / XINHUA)

People are happy to participate in the celebration. (LI JING / XINHUA)

Pigeons are released during the celebration. (SUN FEI / XINHUA)

Guards of honor march in Tian'anmen Square at the start of a ceremony to raise the national flag. (XING GUANGLI / XINHUA)