The 85-year-old Jiang took his seat onstage with other former and current top Chinese leaders at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing at an official event commemorating the centennial anniversary of the 1911 revolution that overthrew imperial rule on the mainland.

Dressed in a dark blue suit and red tie, Jiang wore his signature large, square-rimmed glasses as he sat listening to speeches with his hands on the table in front of him. His hair was slicked back as usual but was obviously thinning, and he appeared at times to be tired.