On Tuesday night, tens of thousands of people made their way to Hong Kong’s Victoria Park to take part in the only large-scale public gathering on Chinese soil to remember the Tiananmen Square crackdown.

For the 30th anniversary of June 4th, 1989, the annual vigil saw record turnout numbers with organizers claiming 180,000 attendees while police estimated a much more modest 37,000.

“For 30 years, the candle lights at Victoria Park have accompanied us through difficult times, and have warmed our hearts,” Zhang Xianling, one of the Tiananmen Mothers, told the crowd. “It’s been 30 years since the crackdown. The sounds of the gunshots on that bloody night … have forever stayed in our minds.”