ISLAMABAD
\nAs China and Pakistan mark the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, a commemorative event titled \u201cMountains and Rivers as Witness, passing on the Light\u201d was held at the Chinese Martyrs\u2019 Cemetery in Gilgit, Pakistan, China Economic Net reported.
\nThe ceremony, held on the occasion of China\u2019s traditional Qingming Festival, a day dedicated to honoring ancestors and remembering the departed, paid tribute to the enduring ironclad friendship between the two nations forged through decades of shared sacrifice and mutual support.
\nThe Chinese Martyrs Cemetery in Gilgit, also known as the China Memorial Cemetery, is located in Danyor, approximately ten kilometers from Gilgit city across the Gilgit River.
\nDuring the event hosted by the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan, a five-minute commemorative short film, \u201cEchoes of the Karakorum,\u201d was screened.<\/p>\n
Established in the early 1970s and officially completed in 1978, the cemetery serves as the final resting place for 88 Chinese engineers and workers and engineers who lost their lives during the construction of the Karakoram Highway (KKH) between 1966 and 1979.<\/p>\n
Centering on the construction of the Karakoram Highway and continuing with a Chinese language lesson, the film showcased the arduous journey and unwavering dedication of Chinese aid workers in Pakistan.
\nVeteran Tian Niansheng, who participated in the construction of the Karakoram Highway, movingly recounted the difficult years of building the highway, sharing touching stories of Chinese and Pakistani builders working side by side and helping each other. Ali Ahmed, the elderly tomb keeper of the Chinese Martyrs Cemetery, slowly approached the martyrs\u2019 tombstones, \u201cI am not guarding a cemetery,\u201d he said, \u201cbut the souls of my Chinese brothers.\u201d
\nAli Ahmed began voluntarily guarding the cemetery nearly five decades ago. A recipient of the \u201cFive Principles of Peaceful Coexistence Friendship Award\u201d from the Chinese government, he once said he would keep guarding \u201cuntil I can no longer do it,\u201d and expressed hope that his son would continue the duty.
\nToday, that legacy of devotion lives on. Students from the Chinese Language Classroom of the Pakistan Chinese Education Association performed a poetry recitation of \u201cNostalgia\u201d by the renowned Chinese poet Yu Guangzhong.
\nManzoor Hussain, a son of the late Madad Ali who dedicated his life to guarding the Chinese graveyard in Gilgit and has now taken over this decades\u2011long family mission, joined representatives from the China-Pakistan Youth Exchange Community, teachers and students of the Pakistan Chinese Education Association, road\u2011construction veterans and their families, caretakers of the martyrs\u2019 cemetery, and delegates from the Overseas Chinese Association Gilgit\u2011Baltistan at the event.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD As China and Pakistan mark the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, a commemorative event titled \u201cMountains and Rivers as Witness, passing on the Light\u201d was held at the Chinese Martyrs\u2019 Cemetery in Gilgit, Pakistan, China Economic Net reported. The ceremony, held on the occasion of China\u2019s traditional Qingming Festival, a day […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":540449,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-540431","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-national"},"yoast_head":"\n