A giant portrait of former Chinese President Jiang Zemin was paraded through the Tian'anmen Square Thursday morning.

The arrival of the portrait was followed by the broadcast of Jiang's speech at the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 2002, calling for all the members to "advance the cause of building socialism with Chinese characteristics and create a happier life and a better future for us all."

Jiang, who also served as general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), was at "the core of the Party's third generation leadership." He reviewed the troops in a grand military parade in 1999 at the 50th Anniversary.

Jiang initiated the view that the CPC must always represent the development requirements of China's advanced social productive forces, the progressive course of China's advanced culture and the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the Chinese people, which has been known as the "Three Represents."

During the 13 years of the Party's third generation leadership, China's GDP maintained an annual average of more than 9 percent. A rigid economic planning system had given way to a vibrant market economy. The life of 1.3 billion people took a historic leap from being adequately fed and clothed to being moderately well-off.

"I was overwhelmed with joy when I knew I would have the chance to parade through the Tian'anmen Square among the formations," 19-year-old Pang Dongming, a sophomore at the China Youth University for Political Sciences, told Xinhua.

"My parents are farmers in Henan Province. Without rapid development in the rural areas, the life of the ordinary people like my family could not have improved so much and so quickly," he said.

Peng Haitao from southwest China's Sichuan Province participated in the celebration as a student from the Beijing University of Technology. "We overcame the 1997 Asian financial crisis and 1998 summer flooding on the Yangtze River, and are combating the current global economic downturn. The experiences we draw from the challenges will encourage us to go further in the future,"

"As a Sichuan native, I can never forget the support from all across the country after the May 12 earthquake last year," he said. "We could not have such bright smiles today without a strong nation."

"While the military parade showcases our military strength, the civilian parade tells the comprehensive strength of China," said Hua Haifeng, an official with the State Auditing Administration who paraded in the formation of "rule of law."