The Tian’anmen Square on Oct. 1.

October 1 marked the 69th National Day of China. In addition to Chinese citizens, plenty of foreigners also celebrated the holiday to express their love for the country.

A 24-year-old student by the name of Sophia from Hungry was one of them. Sophia, studying in central China’s Henan province, came to Beijing for the first time during the 7-day vacation. She told People’s Daily that she came to Tian’anmen Square to watch the flag-raising ceremony, which has long been a dream of her.

“I felt the pride and confidence of the Chinese as I heard the national anthem and saw the flag rising,” she said, adding that it reminded her of her motherland.

Chinese and foreign players attending an international ice hockey tournament in Beijing celebrate the National Day together on Oct.3.

Mason, an American who came to China two years ago, is an employee at a hotel in the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu. Visiting the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven and other tourism attractions in Beijing, he said that the National Day holiday, or the “golden week”, was a showcase of China’s increasingly improved public infrastructure, developed market economy and strong consumption trends.

Thanks to the Belt and Road Initiative, the German city Duisburg finally regained vitality, said a German by the name of Paul at a photo exhibition held in the city to celebrate China’s National Day.

“Duisburg is a stop along the China-Europe freight train, and our business gets busy again because of it,” he noted. In the eyes of the German, the Belt and Road Initiative was not proposed to pursue China’s exclusive development, but common prosperity of the world.

African students visit a traditional medicine clinic in Wuqiao county, Hebei province on Oct. 5.

On Oct. 6, a Senegalese woman surnamed Averyka sent her blessing for China’s 69th birthday by singing a beautiful Chinese song in the streets of Senegal. Averyka studied in Beijing for seven years, and considers China her second homeland.

The woman is planning to make a music album with elements of Chinese culture and a film that integrates Chinese and African cultures next year to celebrate the 70th Chinese National Day.

What attracted the foreigners to join the celebration of China’s National Day was the country’s glorious achievements.

Pan Liying (left), an English teacher with Yangqiao Middle School in Fuzhou, introduces the art of paper cutting to US guests on Oct. 3.

When Mustafa Mohamed Ahmed Yahi, a Sudanese professor, first came to China in 1995, the Beijing Capital International Airport had only very limited air routes. But now China has established a well-developed transportation network, and the airport has also evolved into one of the busiest airports in the world. The professor was astonished by the rapid development of China over the years, saying China’s achievements are nothing but a miracle.

China’s development not only facilitated its own citizens, but also helped foreigners realize their dreams.

A worker introduces Chinese bonsai to foreign clients at a bonsai expo held in Zhongshan, Guangdong province on Oct. 7.

Gabonese Idoko came to China 16 years ago to study electronics and computer engineering. After graduation, he worked for a Beijing company as a certified engineer. Now he has grown into the backbone force of the company, and established his own family in China. Celebrating the National Holiday in China with his family, Idoko told People’s Daily that China is developing in a rapid manner, and he is proud of his experiences in China.