China's Xi leads officials at Martyrs' Day ceremony

STORY: Members of the People's Liberation Army (Pla) honour guard marched with floral baskets in the square before laying them at the Monument to the People's Heroes during the ceremony. Xi and members of the Politburo walked past the floral tributes shortly after.

Martyrs' Day is an annual national memorial day which began in 2014, the second year of Xi's leadership, and falls each year on the eve of National Day, the anniversary of the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

China's ruling Communist Party opens its 20th congress on Oct. 16. It is likely to end with Xi anointed for a third, five-year term as the supreme leader and a shuffle of personnel on the decision-making Politburo.