SOME 10,000 doves soaredsintosthe air last Sunday morning from the Bund and with them also soared the hopes for peace of the 13 million residents of the country's economic heart.

　　"We just want to show our support for the Chinese Government's statement seeking a halt to the military actions launched by the United States and some other countries against Iraq and to promote world peace," said Chen Baoping, president of the activity's sponsor, "The Bund".

　　Chen Lanni, director of the four-month-old weekly, said the task of the newspaper is to go with the beat of society.

　　"We hope the activity will help our employees as well as our readers to think more about peace," Chen said.

　　Guo Yaqin and Hong Xinggen, a couple from Shanghai's suburb of Jiading, joined Sunday's dove-flying with their three-year-old grandson.

　　Guo, 54, said every person wants to live in peace and no one wants to see their achievements destroyed by war. She said they saw the war against Iraq on TV and felt very sorry to see wounded Iraqi civilians in the hospital.

　　Her husband Hong who works for Shanghai Volkswagen recalled that his parents' generation suffered a lot from the Japanese invasion 60 years ago. He said he was thankful China has been putting its focus on economic construction.

　　"I'm content with my present life," he said.

　　The 20-minute flying display was captured by the cameras of domestic and foreign tourists, who also expressed their wishes for a peaceful resolution of the Iraqi issues within the UN framework.