Emotions flow freely on first of three national mourning days

Scenes captured across Chengdu during the three minutes of silence, when all of China ground to a halt yesterday. For many Chengdu-ites, this earthquake has hit very, very close to home:

After the three minutes of silence at Tiananmen Square, the crowds broke out into unanimous chants of "Long live China!" (中国万岁！) and “Go Wenchuan Go!" (汶川加油！). Similar scenes also broke out in gatherings in other major cities, and some a lot more emotional than this one below as we saw on television yesterday:

As many have observed, this was the first time that China has lowered its flag for ordinary citizens. But it was also the very first time that the Chinese people have come together and shed tears together at the same time all across the land. And whether or not one agrees with some of the methods that have been employed, it was technology that made it all possible.