In Pics: China Communist Party's 'Xi' event begins

 | Updated: Oct 18, 2017, 12:28 PM IST
The Communist Party of China today started its 19th National Congress as President Xi promised beginning of a new era for the Middle Kingdom

New Era

Chinese politics scholar Chen Daoyin told AFP, "It is different from Mao's era and Deng's reform and opening era... Now we have entered an era of becoming strong."
(Photograph:AFP)

Smile and Pose

Attendants pose for photos in Tiananmen Square as they wait for delegates during the opening ceremony of the 19th Communist Party Congress in Beijing.
(Photograph:AFP)

Traditional costumes

Delegates from China's dozens of ethnic minority groups were required, as always, to wear traditional costumes, often with elaborate headgear.
(Photograph:AFP)

Long speech and lots of tea..

Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks during the opening of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China.

"It was strongly persuasive, infectious, cohesive, and had rally-appeal" Zhang Weiguo a Communist Party official from Hubei province in central China, was thrilled by the speech.
(Photograph:Reuters)
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Great Hall of the People

Entering the Great Hall for the event required airport-level security checks, with x-ray machines and metal detectors.

Outside food and drink were not allowed.
(Photograph:Reuters)

All that Cheer!

Cheerleaders dancing to celebrate the opening of 19th Communist Party Congress.
(Photograph:AFP)

Ladies in Red..

Attendants walk in Tiananmen Square as they wait for delegates during the opening ceremony of the 19th Communist Party Congress in Beijing.
(Photograph:AFP)

Red stands for China

College students wave national flags as they watch the opening of the 19th Communist Party Congress in Huaibei in China's eastern Anhui province on October 18, 2017.
(Photograph:AFP)

Paparazzi

Journalists, many of whom had queued in the rain since before dawn, swarmed.
(Photograph:AFP)