Immortal Regiment March Takes Place in Beijing - Photos

The ceremony was first held in China in 2016, with people gathering at Beijing's Nanguan park.

The Immortal Regiment event kicked off in Beijing, with 350 people marching through the Chinese capital, celebrating the 77th anniversary of the Victory Day over Nazi Germany. This year, the march was held at the Russian Embassy due to the coronavirus pandemic restrictions.

"The fact that we are here today proves we remember our history - in the 21st century this is especially crucial and every year becomes more and more important. We, those living today, received this memory from the hands of our fathers, grandfathers, great-grandfathers, and we should carefully pass it to the new generations and ensure they will pass this memory on," Russian Ambassador to China Andrei Denisov noted, speaking to the participants of the event.

One of the participants, Chinese national Chai Eli born in 1938, told Sputnik that during the war she lived in the International Boarding School in the Russian city of Ivanovo and has attended every Immortal Regiment procession in Beijing.

"My grandfather took part in the war, he fought in the Far East as part of the 88th Separate Rifle Brigade, he was a battalion commander," she said.

Chai said that Victory Day is the most important celebration for her family, and that she plans to watch the broadcast of the Victory Day parade on Red Square in Moscow on 9 May.

The Immortal Regiment event started back in 2012 as an initiative of journalists from the Russian city of Tomsk, who carried portraits of their relatives who had participated in WWII. In 2013, it was celebrated nationwide, and subsequently the Immortal Regiment became a tradition in multiple countries across the globe.