Cloudy in Beijing Blogging about my time in China

Get ready to party

October 1st will be a big day here. It'll mark 60 years since the founding of the People’s Republic of China.

To celebrate the anniversary, the country is planning a major parade in Beijing. Yesterday, the event’s final rehearsal was held, causing the entire downtown area to be shutdown and restricted from public view.

From what I’ve read over 100,000 students, as well as army personnel, participated in the run through. I didn’t have a chance to go and catch a glimpse of what was going on, but journalists noted seeing dozens of tanks and army vehicles coming through the city as part of those preparations.

I look forward to seeing the parade since I don’t think I’ve ever seen actual military weapons flaunted in such a way before. But it does also remind me of one of the last time tanks came to Beijing and how it wasn't under such celebratory circumstances.

I went downtown hoping to see if there were any leftovers of the rehearsal. There were no tanks, but you could already see that the groundwork for next month’s parade had been laid. Huge TV screens meant for a stadium audience now loomed over Tiananmen Square. Bleachers lay wrapped in plastic near the entrance to the Forbidden City.

I was also surprised by the security; to enter Tiananmen Square, I had to send my backpack through a scanner you'd find at an airport. News reports have said the Chinese government is trying to clamp down on anything that might disrupt the coming anniversary, even causing websites like Facebook and Twitter to be blocked.

It was the cloudiest day thus far, making it pretty crummy to take pictures. Looking at my photos it feels like the life was sucked out of them, my most vibrant shot coming from a mega-sized video screen broadcasting flowers.