A rain-swept national flag raising ceremony in Tiananmen Square drew over 100,000 spectators as dawn broke Monday on the 58th founding anniversary of the People's Republic of China.

Shielding themselves from the drizzle with raincoats and umbrellas, the spectators represented a melting pot of China's diverse population as young and old alike crammed the square, which was awash with color thanks to 400,000 flowers.

"Happy birthday to you, motherland!" chimed in 18 undergraduates from the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics as the red flag was hoisted at 6:10 am while China's rousing national anthem, "The March of the Volunteers," played in the background.

"I feel so proud to see the country becoming more prosperous after going through so much hardship," said 72-year-old Wang Nianshun, from the city of Pingdu in Shandong Province.

More flags were raised in other Chinese cities Monday to celebrate the occasion.

A ceremony at Yinchuan, capital of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, drew tens of thousands of local residents.

In the central city of Changsha, Hunan Province, city administrators organized about 10,000 government employees to clean the streets and railway stations in honor of National Day.

Monday also marked the beginning of the weeklong holiday, or "Golden Week." Local tourism authorities have predicted that 1.7 million people will visit Beijing during the period, with over 150 million people travelling nationwide.