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Published: October 2nd 2009
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Thursday 1st October 2009
Happy 60th birthday
Today is a special day - no it's not my birthday but The People's Republic Of China's birthday. It is mid-autumn festival holiday and National holiday combined.
Today started unusually as a result of this special day - it was quiet. I awoke at 7.30 having had a good night's sleep for a change - nothing woke me up. I lay in bed at 7.30 listening to the wonderful sound of nothing - well nothing except some birds chirping away in the distance; it was heaven. For a full twenty-five minutes I listened to the 'sound of silence' until some machine started up somewhere close by and then other noises joined in, so as not to miss out on the day. I then decided to get up, having enjoyed the best of the day. Of course there are other times of day when Zunyi is truly quiet, generally around 3 a.m. but even then there can the sound of the old tractor and trailer coming to collect the rubbish and the noise of the man with his shovel, lifting up the refuse. At four-twenty yesterday morning there was a man who had
something or someone to shout out before going off to work or to shout in another area. I do wonder if Chinese people are actually afraid of silence because so little of it prevails. Anyway, enough of my bitching, today is a special day and it was enjoyable to watch the massive celebrations taking part in Beijing on Internet TV. Crysal and I did go for a walk and joined others on the plaza to watch the big screen before walking into the moutains.
As with the Olympic games, the birthday celebrations were awe inspiring; so huge and immaculate. If I were Chinese, I would be very proud indeed of my country. This was not all show and propaganda, this was a true celebration of the country, proud of what it has achieved and shown off in a very big way. Such is the population of this country and such is its ability to orgnise people, they can put on the show to end all shows.
In the afternoon we met up with Stephen and Catherine who have recently arrived in Zunyi to teach at No.4 Middle School. They are both from Glasgow but didn't know each other
until they arrived in China. They have both been placed here on an internship after completing a TEFL course. This is their first time in China and so all is new, strange and a little overwhelming at times. We walked together into the mountains before coming back to our place for a Chinese tea ceremony. It was great to chat to some Brits for a change, some people who I could relate too about the home country.
In the evening Crystal and I walked back to the plaza where there is the big screen but I was disappointed to find out that there would be no fireworks or anything here. It was all going off in Beijing, including another mammoth spectacle of music and dance. Apparently they would have the biggest firework display ever and all we could do was watch. Watching fireworks on a screen is never the same as the real thing so we came away. I felt cheated that this city held no celebrations, despite its importance in China's modern history. Crystal didn't feel the same way however. She also thought that most Chinese would be content to watch it all on TV.
So there
were no organised fireworks or anything going on but at 2.30 a.m. I thought that the fireworks had arrived. Not too far away there were what I took to be fireworks; huge repeating bangs and I could even see the flashes. I grumbled to myself at the inconsideration of some who had decided to do this when most folk were sleeping. Crystal however slept through it all and probably most of the residents. However in the morning when I told Crystal about this, she said it wasn't fireworks but an attempt by the authorities to bring about rain by using some sort of canon to send shells up into the sky. Apparently we are experiencing a draught and the farmers needed rain. I couldn't figure out however why they had to do it in the middle of the night and the middle of the city. But as I have said before, the Chinese don't know what silence means.
Photographic Exhibition
As can be seen by the photos, there was a huge photographic exhibition in Zunyi. Most photographs were taken in China but there were also other photos from around the world. What the photos showed to me, was how
diverse are the communities of China and how rich in culture. It would be wonderful to travel around China and discover such places and communuities but China is so big and these places so remote; it would take a lifetime. I have included 84 of my own photos of the exhibition.
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