Thousands of Chinese protest against Japan over Diaoyu islands

01/25

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A protester carries the Chinese flag chanting nationalist expressions ahead of thousands of protesters walking on the Japanese embassy Sunday to protest the recent dispute with Japan over the Diaoyu islands.

02/25

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Thousands of protestors make their way to Garden hotel Sunday morning to express their anger against Japan over their recent actions on the Diaoyu islands.

03/25

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A Chinese soldier squares off against protesters trying to force their way into the Garden hotel during a protest rally against Japan over the recent dispute on the Diaoyu islands.

04/25

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A protester holds a banner "Ai wo zhong hua di zhi ri huo." (I love China. Resist Japanese goods.) As he walks with thousands of others to protest the recent dispute against Japan over the Diaoyu islands.

05/25

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Thousands of protestors make their way to Garden hotel Sunday morning to express their anger against Japan over their recent actions on the Diaoyu islands.

06/25

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Two protesters hold signs which read "Ai wo zhong hua di zhi ri huo." (I love China. Resist Japanese goods.).

07/25

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Thousands of protestors make their way to Garden hotel Sunday morning to express their anger against Japan over their recent actions on the Diaoyu islands.

08/25

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A protester slams into police riot shields on the front line of the protest rally less than 15 meters from the entrance to the Garden hotel during the protest against Japan over the recent dispute on the Diaoyu islands.

09/25

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A protester shouts at a police officer on the front line of the protest rally less than 15 meters from the entrance to the Garden hotel during the protest against Japan over the recent dispute on the Diaoyu islands.

10/25

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Ms. Wang shouts protest chants during the morning rally against Japan over the diaoyu island dispute. Ms. Wang helped to organize the 30,000 plus protest.

11/25

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Soldiers use riot shields to hammer the crowd of protesters back during the morning protests against Japan over the Diaoyu island dispute.

12/25

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Thousands of protesters find themselves in a stand-off against soldiers placed to defend the entrance to Garden hotel.

13/25

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Thousands of protesters find themselves in a stand-off against soldiers placed to defend the entrance to Garden hotel.

14/25

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A police woamn is yanked from her defenses by protesters at the Sunday morning protest against Japan over the recent dispute on the Diaoyu islands.

15/25

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A police woamn is yanked from her defenses by protesters at the Sunday morning protest against Japan over the recent dispute on the Diaoyu islands.

16/25

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A protester muscles himself against soldiers barricading.Entrance to the Garden hotel.

17/25

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Protesters and soldiers square off at the entrance to the Garden hotel during a massive protest rally against Japan over the recent dispute on the Diaoyu islands.

18/25

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A protester hurls a bottle of water against soldiers barricading the side entrance to the Garden hotel.

19/25

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Thousands of protesters make their way to Garden hotel Sunday morning to express their anger against Japan over their recent actions on the Diaoyu islands.

20/25

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Thousands of protestors make their way to Garden hotel Sunday morning to express their anger against Japan over their recent actions on the Diaoyu islands.

21/25

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A protester holds a sign which reads "Zhong guo ling tu he zhu quan jue bu rong qin Diao yu dao Zhong guo de." (China's land and power cannot be interrupted. Diao yu island is China's.).

22/25

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Protesters break down a traffic barrier Sunday morning during their march on the Japanese embassy.

23/25

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Protesters break down a traffic barrier Sunday morning during their march on the Japanese embassy.

24/25

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Thousands of protestors gather at Martyr's Park early Sunday to express their anger against Japan over their recent actions on the Diaoyu islands.

25/25

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Protesters break down a traffic barrier Sunday morning during their march on the Japanese embassy.

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More than 30,000 protesters gathered in Guangzhou this morning at a number of rally points all coordinated to march on the Japanese embassy in the Garden Hotel.

More than 30,000 protesters marched on the Japanese embassy in the Garden Hotel this morning.
A group of protesters rallied at Martyr's park in downtown Guangzhou this morning to voice their objection against the Japanese over the Diaoyu Islands dispute.
The group marched to the Garden Hotel, where the Japanese embassy is located, and met three other groups of protestors along the way, all of them funneling together into the entrances to the hotel.
Military and police were dispatched across the entire area surrounding the Garden hotel in an effort to maintain order. According to one policeman, 10,000 police were on scene to control the crowd.
Protesters and police clashed heavily at points, developing into brief outbursts of violence where protesters were seen forcibly handled by police as well as police receiving physical injuries from fists and ready-made weapons from sticks, brick, rock, and water bottles.
Protestors launched bottles of water, sticks, rocks, and eggs at the police and the Garden hotel entrance. The windows of the Japanese embassy in the 2nd floor of the hotel were smashed out by protesters who gained access to the building to break the windows from within.
At a side entrance to the hotel, protestors met a human barricade of military men and women armed with riot shields and helmets. At times, some protesters managed to smash the riot shields and pull police and military from their ranks into the crowd. At other times the rows of military defense dispelled the attack and managed to push the advancing crowd back.
This protest in Guangzhou was organized in concert with protests in major cities across the country all arranged to take place this weekend. Xian and cities in Hubei province saw protests Saturday while the heaviest protests were planned for Sunday morning in Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Tianjin. News of the protest was distributed over Weibo, the domestic microblog online service, and QQ, the most popular social networking tool used in China.