A flag-raising ceremony is held beside New York City's iconic Charging Bull in Wall Street, to celebrate the 61st anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Sept  29, 2010. [Photo/Xinhua]

NEW YORK - A Chinese national flag was raised Wednesday in New York's financial district, beside the world-famous Charging Bull in Wall Street, to celebrate the 61st anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

The flag-raising ceremony, hosted by the Sino-American Friendship Association (SAFA), was attended by US and Chinese officials, business executives, community leaders and students from all backgrounds, aiming at celebrating the friendship and promoting communications and mutual understandings between the two countries.

"We hope the US-China friendship will grow as the meaning of the Charging Bull, optimism and prosperity," Peter Zhang, president of the SAFA, said at the ceremony.

Holding China's national flag in hands, Dr. Michael Szenberg, co-chair of SAFA and editor-in-chief of the American Economist, told Xinhua that this ceremony demonstrated the solidarity between Chinese and American people.

"With more and more Chinese coming to the United States, people from both countries can understand each other better," he said.

David LaMorte, assistant principle of the New York Tottenville High School, whose marching band played China's national anthem during the ceremony, said their 110 students got a wonderful chance to know more about China and Chinese culture while practicing China's national anthem.