BEIJING -- The remains of Comrade Li Keqiang, who was a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the 17th, 18th and 19th Communist Party of China (CPC) central committees and former premier of the State Council, were cremated at the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery in Beijing on Thursday.

Li was extolled as an excellent CPC member, a time-tested and loyal communist soldier and an outstanding proletarian revolutionist, statesman and leader of the Party and the state.

Li died of a sudden heart attack at 00:10 on Oct 27 in Shanghai after all-out rescue efforts failed. He was 68.

Xi Jinping, Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang, Li Xi, Han Zheng and Hu Jintao, among others, had either visited Li Keqiang when he was in hospital or expressed deep condolences and offered sincere sympathies to his family through various means after his passing.

On Thursday morning, the cemetery's auditorium was immersed in solemnity, with a mournful dirge playing in the background. At the main hall hung a black banner with white characters that read "Deeply mourn for Comrade Li Keqiang." Under the banner was a portrait of him. The body of Li, covered with the flag of the CPC, lay amidst flowers and evergreen cypresses.

Around 9 am, Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan, Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang, Li Xi, Han Zheng and others walked slowly up to Li Keqiang's remains, stood in solemn silence to pay their tributes, and made three bows. They shook hands with Li's family members, offering their condolences. Hu Jintao sent a wreath to express his condolences over Li's passing.

Other Party and state leaders either paid their final respects at the cemetery or expressed their condolences through various means. Leading officials from relevant central departments, Li's friends and representatives from his hometown also mourned his passing at the cemetery.