October 1st is China’s National Day where they celebrate the founding of the country by Chairman Mao. And this year, the 60th Anniversary is being greeted as if it was the most grandiose affair of the century. Banners welcoming this day are set up outside many office buildings and public places. The television is bombarded with constant programs like variety shows, documentaries and TV series and old war movies depicting how far China has come in the lat 60 years and broadcasting the pride of the nation. The Chinese flag is hung outside homes. Many make plans to spend the day watching the live morning broadcast at their grandparents and catch a glimpse of the nighttime fireworks display on the streets outside. Nearly everything comes to a complete halt as all government organizations come to a standstill. Other than the 1 week long vacation Chinese people get during Chinese New Year, this is the only other time when they get an entire week off from work. It's heralded as 'The Golden Week'. Security is at its highest alert. It’s proudly regarded as being twice or trice times more of a celebration than the Olympics last year. In the past couple weeks, volunteers, various groups and thousands of high school kids have been rehearsing for this big day. Fighter jets have been have been zooming past the sky holding practice on days where the normally hazy polluted sky is clear. The number of security guards has tripled in the city center particularly in areas within the 2nd ring road.
These rehearsals about twice a week for the last month of so has led to many people being inconvenienced as many roads and public places are closed off from 4pm to 7am the next day for the rehearsals in Tiananmen Square. People unprepared of uninformed about the rehearsal days are left to take alternate routes home from work or just going home from shopping. Buses are all commissioned off the streets to bus the participants to the rehearsals. Cabs were one in a million to catch as the number of passengers quadrupled. Subways stops were closed off. Many have had to resort to walking most of the way home. Needless to say, it add two to three hours to their commute to get home. The inconvenience afforded to the public could be said to be rude and selfish at best, especially when taking into account the lack of information and preparations offered as alternative routes. With that in mind, it amazed me how little people complained and somehow just took it with stride in respect to the rehearsals welcoming this day. In fact, many who had the opportunity to see the army tanks rolling past the streets to get to Tiananmen Square in the night boasted about it and showed off pictures they had taken on their cell phones.
Airlines have spiked up their tickets to double the regular airfare during this time as people try to take the opportunity to travel during this time. I’ve been told that people are going to be packing the streets like sardines during this whole week of National Day celebration, so it’s better to stay home. For security purposes, Beijing Capital Airport will be closed from the night of September 30th until the morning of October 2nd. All flights will be re-routed elsewhere.
Whilst older women here like having dogs as pets, Beijing men in their 40s and above enjoy rearing birds. Every evening, they release the birds from their cages for a couple hours. The birds know to come back at sundown. This National Day, for security purposes, bird owners are not allowed to release their birds from their cages from the night of September 30th to October 2, in the event that that someone attempts to outfit them with spy cameras.
The Chinese government are going to make every effort to make this day glorious even if it means altering nature. According to the weather forecast, it will be a rainy October 1st in Beijing. But in order to make the celebration go on as planned, the authorities will apparently be using their usual rain initiation technique to instigate the clouds to rain on September 30 so that the festivities will continue under the backdrop of clear blue skies.
The sad part is, the ordinary people themselves will only be able to witness this parade in Tiananmen Square from their TV boxes at home. As the entire city is on high alert, many streets and subway stations will be closed between 11pm on September 30th and 9am on September 2nd. People living within the 2nd ring road stock up the fridges with food to prepare for the National Day ‘quarantine’. Ironically, the only people allowed to watch this grand parade are people in the military class and government officials. If you ask any Chinese why they aren’t allowed to be on the streets celebrating this glorious day of the birth of their country, the answer you’ll get is, “There’s too many people. What if a bomb goes off?”. Sounds a lot like a bunch of silly bull*__* propaganda the government sells in the newspapers and such to scare the people from participating in an open ‘proletariat’ assembly in a public place if you ask me. But then I’m just a foreigner in this country so what do I know, right?…or do we foreigners realize something they are brainwashed to believe, all to the advantage of the ruling class?
