More than 100 concerts and other events will be cancelled on Sunday at the Shanghai Expo to mourn victims of a powerful mudslide in northwestern China.
Sunday was declared a nationwide day of mourning in memory of more than 1,200 people killed when mudslides tore down entire apartment blocks, and buried houses and streets under deep layers of mud in the northwestern Gansu Province on August 8.
Chinese flags will fly at half-mast in the country and in its embassies and consulates overseas. Public entertainment will also be suspended on Sunday to express the deep condolences for the mudslide victims.
In Shanghai, National flags, as well as flags of the Bureau of International Expositions and the 2010 Expo will also fly at half mast. Other participating nations may also choose to lower their flags to express condolences and solidarity with the Chinese people.
The pavilion of the disaster-hit Gansu Province has postponed all concerts and other entertainment events until mid-September.
According to Saturday's media reports, the official death toll from the disaster stands at 1,239 and 505 people remain unaccounted for. Six villages and two towns were practically razed to the ground by the disaster, leaving some 45,000 people homeless.
SHANGHAI, August 15 (RIA Novosti)
