National Day!

Hats off the the Chinese, they certainly know how to put on a display!

On 1 October 2010, the People's Republic of China celebrated 60 years of Socialist rule, and championed its place in global history, present and future. It was a celebration of its political rule and military presence, demonstrated by parades of tanks, missiles and soldiers through the streets of Beijing, but also a nod to their sporting prowess with many Olympic stars riding on huge floats. To top it all off, and to my great surprise, the weather shenanigans worked and the blue skies were fantastic and a huge contrast to the mist when I left on Wednesday night!

I decided not the stay in China for the National Day celebrations, and I thought I might regret this nearer the time; and in a way, it was a shame for me not to be part of the huge party in Beijing. However, strict traffic control and tight security meant that only 30,000 people or so were able to watch the parade, and several thousand more were involved in it by invitation of the Chinese government. If you were not one of these people (which I was not, no doubt due to my lack of guanxi!), then you were 'encouraged' to stay at home and watch it on TV - which was certainly impressive in any event. As my apartment is located bang in the middle of the celebrations and there was a ban on going on my balcony, or in fact entering or leaving the building, I am glad I came to Singapore for these 6 days.

As always, the fireworks in the evening looked spectacular, and demonstrated just how special this day was for the PRC.