国庆60周年!

Let me start by saying Happy Birthday, China.
At 10pm on Sept. 30th, I watched CCTV 4’s broadcast of National Day. I witnessed organization that Americans are incapable of. The soldiers were lined up ever so nicely; they looked like clones. Soldiers were the same height, had the same clothes, and stood the same way. One of the interesting sections was the women’s militia (女兵) who wore magenta outfits with white go-go boots and berets.
The ceremony started, of course, with the national anthem and flag raising. Then Hu Jintao gave a speech full of Party buzzwords. After that, he gave the military review. Hu poked his upper body out of a sunroof of a Chinese Red Flag limo with four microphones in front. I kept expecting him to through a pie or start dancing; he looked too serious for his own good. As he was driven past the troops and tanks, he stoically greeted his comrades.
Once the military review ended, the military parade began where the tanks and troops marched past Tiananmen Square. It was amazingly frightening and frighteningly amazing. The soldiers marched in step, and even the vehicles were ‘in step.’
Floats for each province and region and ministerial department followed the military parade. I saw floats from Guangdong Province (广东加油), Macau, and Beijing. Other floats included energy, transportation, physical education, and the Olympics. Following the Olympics float was the 同一个世界 float, featuring foreigners. While the Chinese all looked, dressed, and acted the same, the foreigners looked disorganized and messy. Their costumes were different, as were their ethnicities and heights.
In Tiananmen Square was a crowd of people lined up holding various colored fans used to create phrases seen from above like “热爱人民,” “服务人民,” and “社会主义好.” I felt smart recognizing and translating the phrases, even though they were simple. The people changed the colored fans simultaneously. I found the fact that so many people moved as one without relaxing for hours amazing.
At 8am on October 1st, Americans could watch the evening concert. China’s national celebration lasted half a day! Of the singers, I only recognized Jackie Chan, who has a moustache that does not suit him. During the day I saw soldiers, people on floats, people by floats, fan people, dancers, singers, and musicians. At night there were even MORE people: singers and dancers. I half expected the participants equaled the population of Beijing.