China's 60th anniversary spectacle: patriotism and might

BEIJING — Patriotism was the theme of China's spectacular 60th anniversary celebrations Thursday, but might was the dominant feature.

The rousing rendition of the Chinese anthem, The March of the Volunteers, left many teary-eyed as the parade began, but not for long. The spectacle of wave after wave of advanced weaponry rolling down central Chang'an Avenue — the Dongfeng 31 long-range intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear warheads more than 10,000 kilometers, the tanks and unmanned drones, plus the roar of 151 airplanes screeching over the heads of the gathered dignitaries in Tiananmen Square — was nothing short of awe inspiring.

Paradoxically, the backdrop for the once-in-a-decade military parade was provided by a sea of school children who formed and reformed their red and yellow flowers to spell in Chinese characters such inspiring messages as "Listen to the Party," and "Be Loyal to the Party."

Even Wang Ling, a pretty 25-year-old Beijinger who like most everyone else in the city watched the invitation-only parade on television, was impressed with the weapons on display.

"It was the most interesting part, the military parade," she said.

But Wang confided she also spent some time watching the children in the background with their ever-changing slogans.

"I performed in the background for the 50th anniversary parade," she said. "I was 15 then."

Yu Jianhua, one of the 800,000-strong army of yellow-shirted volunteers helping to keep order in the capital during the anniversary celebrations, was also impressed by the weaponry when he watched the parade on television. The 62-year-old veteran of the People's Liberation Army remarked: "Our weapons developed very fast."

This was the third military parade Yu had watched, and hands down the best.

"This time we've reached new heights," he said.

The weather was fine for this important anniversary, but it took super-human efforts to whip it into shape.

After days of fog, smog and drizzle, the official Xinhua news agency said scientists relied on "magic" chemicals to disperse the gloom and produce a light rain Wednesday night to wash Beijing clean for the big day.

So, it was under blue skies with only a few puffy white clouds that President Hu Jintao, dressed in a slate-grey Mao jacket — they are called Sun Yat-sen jackets in China — opened the anniversary ceremonies with a symbolic bow to history. Like Deng Xiaoping and Jiang Zemin before him, Hu reviewed the troops while standing in the back of a Chinese-made Red Flag limousine, his head and upper body sticking out of the sunroof.

"Hello Comrades," he said to the 5,000 soldiers lining Chang'an Avenue. "You have worked hard, comrades!"

Later Hu re-joined former president Jiang, Prime Minister Wen Jiabao and Xi Jinping, the man who may be the next president, in 2012, on the reviewing stand atop the Gate of Heavenly Peace, high above Tiananmen Square.

Although eclipsed by the military hardware, the 60 "civilian" floats that followed the tanks and goose-stepping soldiers were more in line with the western idea of a parade, but still not exactly what you might expect on Canada Day.

The themes of the brightly decorated floats were things like "Mao Zedong's Thought," "The Hard Working Pioneering Formation" and "The Slogan of Reform and Opening Up."

Beijing was eerily quiet throughout the big 60th anniversary "party."

Police with loud speakers told people who tried to get near the parade: "Go home! Leave now! Go watch TV at home!"

At noontime, when the 151-plane fly-past roared over the city, people emerge from their homes to watch the spectacle, but that was about as close as they got to the day's events.

Security has become an overwhelming concern for the current regime and, although Beijing is one of the safest capitals in the world, the Chinese leadership appears afraid that even the smallest show of dissent will be seen a black mark against it and upset the "harmony" of the nation.

On Thursday night in Beijing, once again invitations were required for the gala 60th Anniversary show and only the A-list was welcome in Tiananmen Square. Everyone else had to be satisfied with television. Since almost nothing else was on the government controlled small screen Thursday, the star-studded gala concert was well watched around the country.

The finale of fireworks was much more egalitarian, however. The spectacular show was visible all around the capital and downtown, people stopped in their tracks to ooh and aah. Some 42,523 fireworks were ignited and there is talk the fabulous pyrotechnics may make the Guinness Book of Records.