Golden Week in Beijing

The first week of October was Golden Week in China. Beginning on October 1st, the 60th anniversary of the PRC, and continuing through the Autumn Festival, everyone had a break from their jobs and classes. It is also the time when almost everyone travels around the country. I decided to stay in Beijing and photograph the crowds.

The hubbub leading up to National Day was huge. The city got cleaned, flower and light displays were in every park, Police started showing up on the sidewalks in exponential numbers. I was expecting massive crowds for the celebration, and lots of fireworks in the street.

On National Day, I attempted to get as close to the parade route as possible. The streets were eerily quiet, as the residents of Beijing had been asked to stay in their homes watch watch the events on TV. However, I didn't realize that everyone would comply with the request.

The police had blocked all streets within a half-mile radius of any and all events, and I was unable to even see the parade. (This article paints a pretty accurate picture of what it was like to be in Beijing, but with a bit of hyperbole. I mean, yes, there were crazy amounts of police, but they mostly had nothing to do aside from sit on the streets and chat.)

Mike, a guy from New York, and I decided to attempt to get close to the parade together, but didn't succeed. We ended up watching the beginning of the broadcast from a convenience mart. (He is the solitary westerner in the crowd below.) It was strange to know that all of these crazy military antics was happening only three blocks away.

Everyone was looking at this, which was tuned to this broadcast.

I also went to the Badaling section of the Great Wall over the break. It is the "Disneyland" section of the wall, the one you probably picture in your head when you think Great Wall of China. Likewise, it is also the section of the wall which most Chinese nationals aspire to visit.


The crowds were immense. It was similar to being in an over-capacity subway train, but only if everyone on the train was attempting to climb a mountain at the same time. But it was also very enjoyable, as everything and everyone around were so interesting. The man, above, was sticking his tongue out at his wife.


In this crazy crowd, there were few foreigners. There were even fewer foreigners with light hair. As when I was in Lioaning province, I got stopped often to pose for pictures. It makes me feel rather odd, at best, when this happens. I wanted to assure people that there are millions of people who look vaguely like me elsewhere in the world.


I also saw the opera Turandot at the Birds Nest Stadium. The street below is the main access road to the stadiums. Now that the Olympics are finished, it is mainly used as a four-lane sidewalk.


I arrived at the Olympic Green about ten minutes before the opera's start, and managed to scalp a ticket. It was absolutely fantastic to be in that stadium, let alone to see a performance there. Unfortunately, the opera was in Italian with Chinese subtitles and I only had a vague notion of the plot. The storyline did not make much sense until I was able to find it on Wikipedia.

The music was brilliant. I have had Nessun Dorma ringing in my head every since. You should listen to by sung Pavarotti, even if you dislike opera. It is stunning.


It was a brilliant, fantastic time to be in Beijing.