Paraders of a civilian formation featuring China's development in democracy marched through the Tian'anmen Square Thursday morning, celebrating the 60th founding anniversary of the People's Republic of China.

In the middle of the formation was a float carrying a banner that reads "sticking to the people's congress system" and "upholding and perfecting the system of multi-party cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC)."

The people's congress system is China's fundamental political system, according to the Constitution of the country.

In 1954, the First National People's Congress was convened in Beijing, marking the establishment of the people's congress system in China.

The year 2009 also marks the 60th anniversary of the system of multi-party cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the CPC, a basic political system in China.

Under the system, the CPC, as the party in power, consults all non-Communist parties and representatives of non-party personages to reach a common understanding before making major decisions.

Chinese President Hu Jintao described the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) as "a patriotic United Front of the Chinese people, a major institution of the multi-party cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the CPC, and a main form to display socialist democracy in the country's political life."

The CPPCC consists of representatives of the CPC and non-Communist parties, personages without party affiliation, and representatives of people's organizations, ethnic minorities and various social strata.

Hu last month urged the CPPCC to "continue carrying out its functions of political consultation, democratic supervision, and participation and raising proposals in governance, in a practical and effective way" at a gathering to mark the 60th founding anniversary of the country's top political advisory body.