A man grieves at the public mourning ceremony for mudslide victims of the Aug. 8 disaster in Zhouqu County yesterday.

FLAGS were flying at half-mast and public entertainment was canceled yesterday as China marked a national day of mourning for the more than 1,200 people killed by massive mudslides in Gansu Province.

Thousands of residents and rescuers in Zhouqu County, flattened by last weekend's landslides, stopped search efforts to take part in a ceremony to remember the victims, State television said.

Sirens wailed as mourners, wearing white paper flowers and some still clutching their shovels, observed a three-minute silence at 10 a.m.

Rescuers and medics later resumed their duties, clearing debris from the swollen Bailong River, searching for bodies buried under sludge and spraying disinfectant to prevent a disease outbreak, the Xinhua News Agency said.

President Hu Jintao and other top leaders also paid tribute to the victims amid warnings that torrential rains forecast for the coming days could hamper relief efforts, Xinhua said.

Flags across the country and at overseas embassies were flown at half-mast and public entertainment such as movies, karaoke, online games and television was suspended, reports said.

State television broadcast images of about 10,000 people gathered at Tian'anmen Square in Beijing early yesterday to watch a flag-raising ceremony while other ceremonies were held across the country.

Shortly after midnight, the home pages of Chinese Web sites turned black and white while newspapers were stripped of color in a show of mourning, Xinhua said.

In Hong Kong, flags on government buildings were lowered and a daily evening light show in the harbor was canceled out of respect for those killed in the devastating mudslides, which buried entire villages.

Authorities said 496 people in Zhouqu were still missing after the avalanche of mud and rocks last Saturday night.

The official death toll rose to 1,248 yesterday from the previously reported 1,239.

Source:Shenzhen Daily