Results tagged “60thanniversary”

Yeesh, speaking of propaganda, it seems that China Daily has an entire section devoted solely to foreign dignitaries wishing China, among other things, a happy birthday and a bright future.

The NPR had an interesting story on 50 slogans put out by the Communist Party to "get people in the mood for the big celebration."

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We were sad to see National Day celebrations come and go in the blink of an eye, after months of ridiculous and awesome preparation. But now we've found an outlet for our grief - The Leo Gallery is in the process of showing a new exhibit, "1949-2009: 60 Years of Chinese Contemporary Art."

With all the talk of National Day, we may have completely forgotten to mention how Shanghai celebrated it. Here's a good reason - it was rainy and gross. We stayed indoors most of the time, glued to the television screen and its vision of a sunny, beautiful fall day in Beijing.

Wow, what a National Day, right? We here at Shanghaiist were so enthused by the revolutionary vigor it inspired in us that we decided to say "screw it" to Friday and took an impromptu day off. But over the weekend, it seemed like everyone had an opinion on the October 1 festivities... and since we were hanging around mostly Chinese people, the opinions were overwhelmingly positive.

You're probably engrossed in the parade right now, but in case you want something to read between the special forces and the space cadets, here's some fun links about our nation's birthday:
• Some artist envisioned what the 60th anniversary parade would look like. Now that we're actually watching it, how did he do? [Danwei]
• The Guardian talks to Mao's personal photographer, who was there to capture the revolution 60 years ago. [Guardian]
• In case you didn't realize, the parade is pretty damn secure. Scarily secure. [LA Times]

You know what's a damper on any big day? A Divorce. And so at least one municipality has decided it's not going to let couples unwed during the 60th anniversary. Seven out of ten Chongqing districts have said that they will not process divorces during the eight-day holiday, even as they're getting extra staff to help with the weddings. Supposedly, they can't cope with the "high demand" for weddings and also issue divorces at the same time. Luckily for them, nobody's tried to process a divorce yet anyhow, though we wonder what kind of urgent circumstances would make couples want to split during a specific week and whether it then might be a good idea for Chongqing to ban knives as well, just in case.

One report we've enjoyed is Melissa Chan of Al Jazeera's highlight on the Long March (on Youtube, unfortunately), when Mao led his forces on a strategic military retreat through China away from the pursuing Kuomingtang forces. The march, which started in Jiangxi, helped propel Mao Zedong to the forefront to the party.

Sometimes it seems as though there is nothing the government can't do. As we know, Beijing is going out of its way to ensure National Day celebrations run as smoothly as possible. With everything planned so meticulously and all those security measures put in place, we would hate for it to rain on our National Day parade.

People all over the country have been doing wacky things for the 60th anniversary: hair statues, wild safaris, you name it. But this one takes the (urinal) cake: a public garden in Panyu has just opened a massive tourist park with over twenty scenic spots, and "six star bathroom facilities". What makes a bathroom worthy of six stars, you may ask? The bathroom is made of gold, of course! Apparently the luxurious bathroom in the new NanYue park complex cost eight million yuan to make, and will host a grand opening party on National Day. Happy birthday, China!

• China's censorship arms race escalates [RConversation] "Last week the China Digital Times reported that the photo above (click here to view full size original) has been making the rounds in Chinese blogs and chatrooms. It is an image of a "computer science float" for Thursday's National Day parade, onto which somebody has photoshopped a screenshot of the Internet Explorer error message familiar to anybody who has ever tried to access a blocked website in China: "This page cannot be displayed." As the 60th birthday of the People's Republic of China approaches, Internet users in China are complaining that the Internet has become even more difficult to use than ever before. Not only has the number of blocked websites increased, but the most popular censorship circumvention techniques and technologies have come under attack."
• 'City of Life and Death' wins Spanish film award [AP] "Chinese director Lu Chuan's film "City of Life and Death" has won the top prize at Spain's San Sebastian Film Festival. The movie, a sensitive and balanced depiction of a traumatic moment in China's history known as the Nanking Massacre, or the Rape of Nanking, deals with a six-week period in 1937-38 following the Japanese capture of the Chinese city of Nanking."
• Mao's revolution at 60: He wouldn't recognize it [The Globe and Mail] "This Thursday, as tanks and missiles roll through Tiananmen Square in Beijing and fireworks explode overhead to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of Communist China, a retired factory worker will gather with her children and grandchildren in this historic city on China's booming east coast, and sigh a little - regret mixed with relief - at what those six decades have brought them."

According to China, it hasn't banned anybody - especially not foreign visitors - from visiting Tibet during the National Day holiday period, despite reports to the contrary. Liao Yisheng, spokesman for the Tibet Tourist Administration, said that while foreigners couldn't go individually, they could visit as part of tour groups. This was due to high demand, rather than any sensitivities due to the anniversary, he told the Associated Press.

From Chinasmack comes this pretty cool absolutely-a-viral video which shows truck drivers from Deppon, a Chinese shipping company, coordinating their horn honks to wish Happy Birthday to China. Yes, most DEFINITELY a viral video.

Everyone's excited about the upcoming 60th Anniversary: after all, it marks a significant milestone in the country's history. A lot has changed over the years, to say the least. To commemorate the many stages and changes of the PRC, in2marcom has a wonderful collection of China Pictorial covers.

This picture was taken by a person who went to check out one of the military drill camps training for the 60th Anniversary celebrations. This one seems to be from the Nanjing military group. It can be translated into:

China, the youthful and ever growing country that it is, has taken many lessons from the rest of the world. As a result, great men from other countries have come to be revered by the Chinese for their advancements: from Issiac Newton to Michael Jordan, many have made lasting impressions on the Chinese psyche. In preparation for the 60th anniversary of the PRC, the Global Times compiled a list of the sixty most influential foreigners in the country's short history. We'll give you a few guesses.

Unsurprisingly, China has banned foreigners from traveling to Tibet in preparation for the 60th anniversary of the PRC. The ban, one of the traditional ways that China attempts to control security around important holidays, will be in effect from September 24 to October 8. If you've been planning a trip to Lhasa, or looking for some new knives, you're going to have to wait until the end of the holidays. Photo: Illuheaven @ flickr

• China party scholar hints at Xi Jinping promotion [Washington Post] "A Chinese Communist official on Tuesday held out the possibility that Vice President Xi Jinping could still be promoted to a military position, in a step toward ultimately taking over the nation's top leadership post. Some media had speculated that Xi, who is expected to succeed President Hu Jintao in 2013, would be anointed vice chairman of the Central Military Commission at a party plenum last week, reinforcing his succession claim. However, the plenum closed last Friday with no word of any personnel changes."
• China opens media center for coverage of 60th National Day celebrations [Xinhua] "A media center was opened Tuesday for journalists covering celebrations commemorating the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China on Oct. 1. The center, in the Media Center Hotel, will operate until Oct. 2 and will be responsible for providing reception and services for media personnel, such as issuing press passes and organizing interviews. Zhu Shouchen, deputy director of the center, said they had so far received applications from more than 4,500 journalists in and outside the Chinese mainland."
• What China's Hu Would Really Like to Tell Obama [Time] "Summit meetings, in particular those with 20 heads of state in attendance, are usually scripted, staid affairs. That's especially true when these get-togethers involve Chinese President Hu Jintao, whose private persona varies little from his public style. As befits someone who is running the world's most populous country, he is intensely disciplined and extremely cautious. On Tuesday, he will meet one on one with U.S. President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York City before heading off to Pittsburgh, Pa., for the G-20 summit on Sept. 24-25. This is what a more relaxed Hu might say to Obama, whose first major decision on trade was to slap a 35% tariff on tires produced in China — an action that generated a flurry of stories in the media about the possibility of a U.S.-China trade war..."

Feel like walking on the wild side for the upcoming October holidays? Then check out the new Shanghai Wild Animal Park exhibit that just opened yesterday. Called "The Carnival of Animals," the new exhibit has over 1000 types of nine rare species, all there to help celebrate the 60th Anniversary. If you go between now and October 30th, you'll be able to see:

Just in time for the national day celebration, Beijing announced that it has begun a countrywide swine flu vaccination campaign. Shots were administered to thousands of students participating in the 60th anniversary parade and will be given to 65 million citizens by the end of the year, with priority placed on those in public service and the infirm. China is now the first country to implement such a campaign against swine flu: given the drastic increase in swine flue cases, we hope the effort is enough.

With only a week and a half left before the 60th anniversary of the PRC, it seems the whole country has caught National Day fever. Capturing the excitement, Boston.com has a wonderful collection of photos from various sources depicting many different preparations around China. We particularly like the fashion military parade pictures: those outfits are fabulous! But amidst all the hoopla, it's a difficult time to be in Beijing.

One of the cutest things we've found in our search for funny National Day things is this homemade music video. Set to the tune of Jackie Chan's "Country (国家)," it features a class of (it seems) 60 year olds and their families singing along, posing around Chinese flags and generally being absolutely psyched about their patriotism.

• China anniversary puts security jitters on show [Reuters] "The Chinese government is flooding Beijing with armed police and up to one million security "volunteers" to head off any unrest over October's sensitive anniversary of 60 years of Communist Party rule. The relentless security has grounded pigeons, lined streets with grandmothers, prompted warnings to stock up on food and left harried residents wondering who the festivities are really for."
• China jails four over stabbings [BBC] "Four more people have been found guilty of carrying out attacks with syringes in the western Chinese province of Xinjiang, state-run television says. The four received sentences ranging between eight and 15 years in jail. Three other people received prison sentences for similar attacks earlier this month."
• SCENARIOS: How US-China trade tensions might play out [Forbes] "U.S. President Barack Obama has slapped a 35-percent "safeguard" tariff on tire imports from China, inflaming trade relations and raising concerns about a possible trade war. Obama's decision, announced on Sept. 11, responded to demands from U.S. union groups, manufacturers and lawmakers who view the Asian export powerhouse as an unfair trader. That perception is shaped by the U.S. trade deficit with China, which hit a record $268 billion in 2008. Here are some ways the dispute could play out:"

   

Gosh, is there anything we love more than old photographs of China? Chopsticks Café & Bar up in Beijing is organizing an exhibition featuring photos from 1890 to the 1960s. The pictures were organized by the two owners of Beijing postcards, who gathered them over the course of a decade from both private collections abroad and from Chinese flea and antique markets.

What's up with all this Tiananmen-styled commemorative hair? We've been trying to burn the image of the hair replica of Tiananmen from our memories for quite some time now, but with only two weeks to go until the big day, we're bracing ourselves for more China-related hair. It just seems like human hair sculptures are the most fitting way to celebrate an occasion as important as the 60th anniversary of the PRC, for some inexplicable reason.

• Chinese Taste for Chicken Feet May Save U.S. Exports [NYTimes] "China is threatening to cut off imports of American chicken, but poultry experts have at least one reason to suspect it may be an empty threat: Many Chinese consumers would miss the scrumptious chicken feet they get from this country. “We have these jumbo, juicy paws the Chinese really love,” said Paul W. Aho, a poultry economist and consultant, “so I don’t think they are going to cut us off.”"
• Official Netizens’ Day Gets Little Attention Online [WSJ] "China officially marked Sept. 14 as the country’s first Netizens’ Day, as decreed by the official China Internet Society… China’s 338 million Web users, however, didn’t seem to muster much enthusiasm for the first official day specially designed to honor them. An online poll on NetEase.com showed that only 50 people out of close to 5,000 Web users surveyed said they “know about the Netizens’ Day/Netizen Cultural Festival”, while over 98% “have never heard of such a festival.”"
• Indian media declares war on China [India Today] "At the meeting of the National Security Council Advisory Board last week, a senior member argued for strong measures to control the media - especially the 24-hour news channels. He was reacting to media reports about Chinese transgressions along the border which are creating a war-like hysteria. In the last two months, news items about Chinese activities on the border have surfaced with remarkable regularity in the Indian media. Invariably these reports are leaked on a Sunday - a lean news day."

We're kind of loving the new pictures that are coming out of the various parades that'll be featured on October 1, the 60th Anniversary. We especially love this picture, which shows our ladies of the People's Liberation Army in their crisp powder blue uniforms and kickin' white high heeled boots.

Evan Osnos over at The New Yorker has found a sneak preview of what's to come during the 60th anniversary celebrations in Beijing. According to Osnos, "Beijing college students have been pulled away from online games and the job hunt to take part in the extravaganza, and they have been practicing for months on playing fields and campus greens across the city."

True, the government has been quite busy in the preparations surrounding the 60th Anniversary of the People's Republic of China: crackdowns on illegal firearms and explosives, tighter security than at the olympics for the National Day celebrations, and the classic visa clampdowns that come with every important holiday. But what about the celebration?