Grassroots dreams mark New Year flag-raising ceremony

Cheers broke out in the first rays of sunshine of 2014 from the ceremony-review stand at China's Tian'anmen Gate in Beijing. Along with a massive group gathered on the square below, 1,000 visitors stood on the political landmark early Wednesday morning to witness the flag-raising ceremony from above. Visitors on the review stand got a bird's eye view of Tian'anmen Square during the ceremony, which was accompanied by a brass brand playing the anthem of the People's Republic of China. "It is such a treasured experience to witness the solemn ceremony. I finally realized the dream on New Year's Day," said Li Yinghao, a 10-year-old boy from Heze in east China's Shandong Province. Li and his mother rushed toward Tian'anmen Square as early as 5 o'clock after a 9-hour train journey from their hometown. At 7:36 a.m. Wednesday, the Five-starred Red Flag was raised. About 20,000 people from all over China witnessed the flag-raising with hopes and dreams for the new year. "I wish for an improved environment with no haze. Then we can organize more bicycle riding activities," said Tang Zhenfu, a college student from the China Institute of Industrial Relations, who cycled to attend the flag-raising ceremony. Tang is a member of the college's cycling club and has ridden his bike to places such as Xi'an, Xiamen and Qinghai Lake on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. "I have a dream of opening a hotel chain for hiking travelers around the country," he said. "Weather" topped a list of the hottest search key words in 2013 on both the full site and mobile versions of Baidu, China's leading search engine. Tang and thousands of visitors were happy to embrace the first day of 2014 on a sunny, breezy and clear Wednesday in Beijing. "I feel pride and responsibility here. Each one has a personal dream, and it is closely related to the nation's prosperity," said Zhou Liangliang, a college student from southwest China's Sichuan Province. Zhou said she considers the Tian'anmen Square ceremony an "Adult Ceremony" to mark her recent 18th birthday. The Chinese Dream concept was put forward by Chinese leader Xi Jinping when he attended an exhibition themed "the road towards renewal" at the end of 2012. Xi stressed that the Chinese Dream means the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. It embodies achieving prosperity for the country, renewal of the nation and happiness for the citizens. It was the second time for Sun Hongwei, head of a private machinery enterprise in northeast China's Jilin Province, to attend the flag-raising ceremony. He was excited to see the effective enforcement of the new policies of a reform blueprint put forward at the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee. "I am expecting a more equitable development environment for private enterprises and better government services," said Sun.