Beijing (CNN) -- Thousands of Chinese protesters hurled bottles and eggs outside the Japanese embassy in Beijing on Saturday amid growing tensions between the two nations over a group of disputed islands.
Waving Chinese national flags and holding portraits of the late Chairman Mao Zedong, the mostly young protesters chanted "down with Japanese imperialism" and called for war as they made their way down the streets under the watchful eyes of police and guards.
Elsewhere in China, anti-Japanese rallies broke out in dozens of cities and sometimes turned violent. Messages and photos posted on Chinese social media sites showed angry mobs in numerous cities ransacking Japanese stores and restaurants as well as smashing and burning cars of Japanese make.