National and regional flags are being flown at half mast at key facilities across the country as the nation mourns the death last Tuesday of Wu Bangguo, former chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee.

Wu, who passed away at the age of 84, is to be cremated in the capital Beijing on Monday.

Flags at Tiananmen Square, the Great Hall of the People, other government buildings, ports and facilities across the country – including in Hong Kong and Macau – as well as Chinese embassies and consulates, were flown at half-mast to mourn his passing.

Authorities have praised Wu in an obituary, calling him “an excellent Party member, a time-tested and loyal communist soldier and an outstanding proletarian revolutionary, statesman and leader of the Party and the state.”