The next morning at 5 o'clock, Zhou Chao was awakened from his sleep by the alarm clock. Today, he was going to watch the flag-raising ceremony at Tiananmen Square with Jiang Li, and since his place was quite far away, he had to get up early.
After getting ready, Zhou Chao hopped into his car and drove towards Tiananmen Square. In both of his lifetimes, he had only seen the flag-raising ceremony on TV and had never experienced it in person. He had even looked up the exact timing to make sure he didn't miss it last night.
The flag-raising time varies each month of the year, with slight differences. For example, on January 1st, the flag is raised at 7:36 AM, while on January 31st, it's at 7:24 AM. Generally, from January to mid-June, the flag-raising time gradually shifts from 7:36 AM to 4:45 AM. Then, from late June to December, it gradually goes from 4:45 AM back to 7:36 AM.