China's 60th Anniversary

We finished up our sessions early and boarded Hong Kong’s Rapid Transit system for the 45-minute ride to downtown Hong Kong. When we disembarked we suddenly found ourselves in a huddled mass with thousands of Chinese people rushing to the Victoria Harbor front in anticipation of China’s celebration of their 60^th Anniversary. Sixty years ago yesterday China became the Communist People’s Republic of China. While Hong Kong is a part of China it has its own autonomous system of government and currency.

We quickly dropped our belongings at the YMCA Salisbury Hotel situated along the harbor front and made our way outside. It was hot and muggy outside reminding me of the lakefront 4th of July Fireworks in Milwaukee on a hot July evening. We exited our hotel and walked one block to Nathan Road, the major north-south thoroughfare and Honk Kong’s version of Madison Avenue. When we got to the intersection I looked left and all I saw was a mass of people migrating northward toward the harbor front only a block away. People were laughing and celebrating and anticipating this event. There was no drunkenness, no loud obscene language or behavior. We saw dozens and dozens of small children with lights in their eyes and anticipation on their faces. Old and young alike were rushing to the harbor front. We decided instead of fighting our may through the massive crowd we would go back to our hotel room and watch the fireworks from our room overlooking the harbor.

The fireworks spectacle was launched form four floating barges in the middle of Victoria Harbor. Imagine a harbor lined with tall glistening skyscrapers at the bottom of towering mountain peaks. All around the harbor camera flashes flashed as the 22-minute pyrotechnical display began. It was a stunning spectacle. As we watched we turned on the TV in the room to keep our eye on the celebration simultaneously in Beijing. China boasted that the celebration in Tiananmen Square last night topped the opening ceremonies of last summer’s Beijing Olympic Games. 100,000 adults, 80,000 children and 140,000 security forces participated in the celebration in Tiananmen. During the finale along Victoria Harbor I was waiting for an all-out display of enthusiasm and hooping and hollering. But it was not that way. The finale seemed more of a fizzle to me.

When we had our breakfast this morning I couldn’t help but notice a copy of the South China Daily newspaper when we walked in. The headlines read: “A Celebration that Stopped A Nation.” It certainly stopped me! This is a nation that exhibits enormous national spirit. It is a nation that prides itself on its efficiency in everything it does. After the fireworks last night we returned to the streets to grab a bite to eat. On our way back to Nathan Road and as people were returning to their homes, I couldn’t help but notice that there were street sweepers everywhere. Five minutes after the fireworks subsided, Hong Kong was already at work cleaning up its city. The police removed the barricades that had blocked all the downtown city streets and within 30 minutes of the conclusion of the fireworks, the downtown city nightlife resumed.

It all seemed to run as efficiently as the Chinese had planned. I was quite impressed.

Every blessing,

S t r e t c h e d