President Xi Jinping on Tuesday paid homage to late revolutionaries who founded the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) and the martyrs who died over the PLA's 90 years of history.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks while addressing a grand gathering in Beijing celebrating the PLA's 90th birthday.

He mentioned the names of founders of the people's army -- Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Liu Shaoqi, Zhu De, Deng Xiaoping -- and other older generation of revolutionaries including Peng Dehuai, Liu Bocheng, He Long, Chen Yi, Luo Ronghuan, Xu Xiangqian, Nie Rongzhen, and Ye Jianying.

"Their great contributions will be marked in the Chinese people's history forever," Xi said.

Xi also called on the nation to cherish the memories of the PLA officers and soldiers who died for the cause of the Chinese people's liberation and for the development of socialism.

"Their sacrifice will forever be remembered," he said.