A Chinese national flag began flying above the main entrance to the city hall of San Francisco, northern California, Monday to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, which falls on Oct. 1.

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, raising the flag himself from the balcony outside his office, also announced that Oct. 1 would be Chinese Heritage Day in San Francisco.

"We can only extend big, hearty congratulations (to China), it's just the beginning for China," the mayor told Xinhua.

"It has been a pretty remarkable history in the last 60 years, and it will be an even more remarkable history in the next 60," he added.

San Francisco, with a large Chinese American population, forged a sister-city relationship with Shanghai in 1980, which is the first between Chinese and US cities.

"We are very very proud of our relationship with China. San Francisco is always trying to extend a strong hand of support for the Chinese people," Newsom said.

Gao Zhansheng, Chinese consul general in San Francisco, officials from the city and leaders of local Chinese communities were invited to attend Monday's flag-raising ceremony, which according to the consul general, showed that the San Francisco city government treasured the cooperation and friendship with China.

(Xinhua News Agency September 22, 2009)