Nation honors heroes, role models

President Xi Jinping, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, and other Party and State leaders pose for a group photo with recipients of national medals and national honorary titles at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Sunday, ahead of the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

President Xi awards Dilma Rousseff, former Brazilian president and president of the New Development Bank, with the Friendship Medal. The medal is the highest honor that China awards to foreign friends. (WANG ZHUANGFEI/CHINA DAILY)

President Xi presents Huang Zongde, a war hero, with the Medal of the Republic, which honors people who have made exceptional contributions to the development of the PRC. (WANG ZHUANGFEI/CHINA DAILY)

Lu Shengmei, a recipient of the title of People's Health Worker, arrives at the Great Hall of the People on Sunday. Lu, a retired doctor, worked at Jiaxian county hospital, in Shaanxi province, for more than 50 years after graduating from a medical college in Beijing in 1968. (Photo/Xinhua)

Recipients of national honorary titles arrive at the Great Hall of the People as part of a motorcade on Sunday. (Photo/Xinhua)

Members of the Chinese Young Pioneers salute the recipients of national medals and national honorary titles at the award ceremony on Sunday. (Photo/Xinhua)

Guards of honor escort honorary medals to the venue of the presentation ceremony on Sunday. During the ceremony in Beijing, 15 individuals were awarded China's national medals and national honorary titles. (Photo/Xinhua)