2018年CRI PLA takes over flag-raising duty at Tian'anmen Square on New Year's Day

 

The sounding of bugles² pierced through the wintry morning silence in the center of Beijing on the first day of 2018.

It also signaled the start of a new daily routine for the Guard of Honor of the Chinese People's Liberation Army to raise the national flag at Tian' anmen Square in Beijing. The stately ceremony was previously³ done by an armed police unit.

As eight soldiers on the Tian'anmen Rostrum blew the bugles, 96 soldiers began marching toward the square in the south, guarding a giant five-star red flag.

The procession was led by three officers clad in the Army, Navy and Air Force uniforms. Each of the three drew a sword upon walking past the Golden Water Bridge connecting the Forbidden City and the Chang'an Avenue.

More than 90,000 people waited for hours at Tian'anmen Square in the cold wintry morning just to be part of the ceremony, watching the national flag being raised in the heart of Beijing on the first day of the new year.

At 7:34, the flag was ready to be hoisted⁴. 

"Salute⁵ to the flag!" one of the lead officers shouted. 

The military band began playing the national anthem⁶. The giant red flag was unfurled and rose along the post as the sun rose on the horizon. 

When the red flag reached the top of the post, the crowd at the square clapped and cheered. The band played "Ode to the Motherland."

The new ceremony features more officers carrying out the duty, with bugle¹ music specially⁷ composed for the event.

Tian'anmen Square witnessed the raising of the first national flag of the People's Republic of China on Oct. 1, 1949, marking a great new start for the Chinese people.

PLA soldiers have paraded through the square on many occasions. On Sept. 3, 2015, Xi, also chairman of the Central Military Commission, inspected the armed forces on the square and announced that 300,000 soldiers would be cut.

Over two years have passed and China has achieved a revolutionary restructuring of the organization and the services of the people's armed forces toward building a world-class force.

Zou Xiangqian, a former serviceman from east China's Jiangsu Province, said he felt proud watching the new flag-raising ceremony.

"China is walking closer to the center of the world stage and Tian'anmen Square is bound to become a center of worldwide attention," he said with excitement.

1 bugle   

n.军号，号角，喇叭；v.吹号，吹号召集

参考例句：

• When he heard the bugle call, he caught up his gun and dashed out.他一听到军号声就抓起枪冲了出去。
• As the bugle sounded we ran to the sports ground and fell in.军号一响，我们就跑到运动场集合站队。

2 bugles   

妙脆角，一种类似薯片但做成尖角或喇叭状的零食； 号角( bugle的名词复数 )； 喇叭； 匍匐筋骨草； （装饰女服用的）柱状玻璃（或塑料）小珠

参考例句：

• Blow, bugles, blow, set the wild echoes flying. "响起来，号角，响起来，让激昂的回声在空中震荡"。
• We hear the silver voices of heroic bugles. 我们听到了那清亮的号角。

3 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

4 hoisted   

把…吊起，升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He hoisted himself onto a high stool. 他抬身坐上了一张高凳子。
• The sailors hoisted the cargo onto the deck. 水手们把货物吊到甲板上。

5 salute   

vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮

参考例句：

• Merchant ships salute each other by dipping the flag.商船互相点旗致敬。
• The Japanese women salute the people with formal bows in welcome.这些日本妇女以正式的鞠躬向人们施礼以示欢迎。

6 anthem   

n.圣歌，赞美诗，颂歌

参考例句：

• All those present were standing solemnly when the national anthem was played.奏国歌时全场肃立。
• As he stood on the winner's rostrum,he sang the words of the national anthem.他站在冠军领奖台上，唱起了国歌。

7 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。