Thousands of people gathered at the World Trade Center site in New York to mourn the victims of the "9.11" incident

On the 11th local time, thousands of people gathered at the World Trade Center Heritage Plaza in New York, USA, to commemorate the victims of the "9·11" terrorist attacks 25 years ago.

In addition to relatives of the victims, those attending the memorial ceremony also included US Vice President Vance, former US President Biden, former US President Obama, former US President George W. Bush, and former US President Clinton. Many current and past governors and mayors of New York State and New York City also came to the scene.

At about 8:40 a.m. that day, an honor guard composed of New York City police officers and firefighters walked onto the podium holding high the American flag, and the youth choir sang the American national anthem, marking the official start of the commemorative ceremony. At 8:46, the mourning bell rang and the audience observed a moment of silence. Later, during the performance of cellist Yo-Yo Ma and orchestra musicians, representatives of the victims' relatives took the stage and read out the names of all the victims in turn.

Different from previous years, this year's commemoration ceremony included seven moments of silence. The first six times corresponded to the six time points in the "9·11" incident, and the seventh time was to commemorate the rescue workers, aftermath workers and other affected people who died of related diseases after the "9·11" incident.

At 8:46 on September 11, 2001, a passenger plane hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York; at 9:03, a second passenger plane hit the South Tower; at 9:37, the Pentagon was hit by a passenger plane; at 9:59, the South Tower collapsed; at 10:03, a passenger plane crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania; at 10:28, the North Tower collapsed. Throughout the incident, terrorists hijacked four passenger planes and nearly 3,000 people died. During the rescue and reconstruction efforts after the incident, hundreds of thousands of people were exposed to dangerous and toxic substances in the rubble and dust, causing many people to suffer from chronic diseases and thousands of people to die from the disease.

Hillman, director and CEO of the National 9/11 Memorial Museum, told reporters that about one-third of the population in the United States today has no memory of the 9/11 incident due to age. This commemoration becomes even more important as more and more people come of age who did not live to witness that day. The museum will uphold its commitment to "never forget" and keep this piece of history passed down from generation to generation.

On that day, New York's "9·11" commemoration activities also included a dance performance in memory of the deceased in the Fountain Square of Lincoln Center, a silent tribute with empty chairs in Bryant Park, a wreath-laying ceremony at the Fire Museum, the ringing of church bells across the city, the lighting of blue lampposts symbolizing the "Twin Towers" near "Ground Zero", the "Sounds of Remembrance" concert at the Perelman Center for the Performing Arts, a reconstruction project of the World Trade Center, etc.

In addition to New York, many places in the United States also held events to commemorate the victims of the "9·11" incident. U.S. President Trump delivered a speech when attending a commemorative event held at the Pentagon, linking the "9/11" incident with national security and counter-terrorism policies, saying that the United States must remain strong and alert to threats.