BEIJING -- The cremation of Buhe, a former vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), was held Thursday in Beijing.

Buhe died in Beijing on May 5 at 3:28 pm He was 91.

President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang, and other senior leaders including Zhang Dejiang, Yu Zhengsheng, Liu Yunshan, Wang Qishan and Zhang Gaoli, as well as former leader Hu Jintao attended the funeral, which was held at Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery in west Beijing.

All guests stood in silent tribute and bowed three times in front of Buhe's body before the cremation. They also extended their condolences to his family.

Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, Zhang Dejiang, Yu Zhengsheng, Liu Yunshan, Wang Qishan and Zhang Gaoli, as well as former leaders Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao either visited Buhe while he was in hospital or offered their condolences after his death.

Buhe was a member of the Mongolian ethnic minority group. He is extolled by the central authority as an excellent member of the Communist Party of China, a time-tested and loyal communist soldier, a proletarian revolutionary and an outstanding leader of ethnic work.