The body of former Chinese President Jiang Zemin was flown to Beijing from Shanghai, and Xi Jinping, the current president, received it with his wife Peng Liyuan and top officials.
Final Journey
Chinese vice president Wang Qishan, Premier Li Keqiang, and other outgoing senior officers, along with the 24-strong Politburo members, joined Xi.
Jiang’s family and friends attended a farewell ceremony in Shanghai, and then the casket with the former president’s body was flown to Beijing.
Wang Yeping, Jiang’s wife, along with the other family members and Politburo Standing Committee member Cai Qi accompanied his body to Beijing.
Shanghai authorities sealed off the main roads between Xijiao Airport and the ceremonial hall so that only selected crowds could gather by the road to see the ex-president off.
The public also gathered in the old house of Jiang in Yangzhou, his hometown.
Jiang Zemin was the party chief between 1989 and 2002. He suffered from leukemia and died of multi-organ failure at 96.
Jiang’s Funeral
The former president’s funeral will occur in on Tuesday morning in Great Hall of the People. All the current and retired top officials of China are expected to attend the event that will be broadcast live. Foreign guests will not be allowed for the funeral.
“End of an era”
Many people posted on Chinese social media that this death was “the end of an era” and shared their nostalgia for Jiang’s period when China was becoming more liberal in social diversity.
People paid their condolences to the former president and also acknowledged his contributions to the country when it was going through a really tough time.
After the fall of the Communist bloc and the Soviet Union, Jiang led China to transform into a market economy and enter the global market to ensure an economic take-off.
