57 years old and counting

 
China National Day, like any other decent national day, celebrates the founding of a modern state by convincing everyone to wave a flag about and feel lucky to be a citizen. Unlike other Chinese holidays, China's National Day is marked according to a solar calendar (the other major holidays are scheduled according to a lunar calendar), and takes place on October 1 each year. October 1, 1949, is when the People's Republic of China was founded, marked by Chairman Mao Zedong waving the first-ever five-starred red flag of China in front of over a quarter million Chinese citizens in Tiananmen Square.

In the image at the top of this entry, you can see a large display of Chinese flags set up at the south entrance to Chaoyang Park. We took this photo a few days before National Day, so they were just getting things set up (see the picture below, which has a number of inflatable structures waiting to be pumped up with national pride). In the photo at the top of the post, you will see an elderly couple taking their morning exercise together, a relatively common site in Beijing's parks early in the day and one o Michael's favorite experiences in China. It is hard to imagine how much insanity this couple must have witnessed over the past 57 years of "red" China, with the latest crazy event being the instant modernization of China's cities. The countryside still has a long way to go (rural education has a wretched reputation in China, with underqualified teachers in ramshackle schoolhouses and crude supplies), but in the cities each day brings a new shiny building into existence. The starkness of the change is stunning. Tomorrow, we'll give you a glimpse of the other end of the scale.