By kouxiansheng

It seems only fair that I would post another photo today, again a la James Fallows. I shot this one at 4:26 this afternoon. It rained today. So the air is cleaner. Much of the rain is acid rain, so I can understand why locals cover their scalps with their hands, their hair with plastic bags, and their heads with the Guangzhou Morning Post.

As a correspondent for the Atlantic, James Fallows took many similar shots, documenting Beijing’s air quality during the run up to the Beijing Games. (See his more optimistic take on Beijing’s air pollution here, or a more humorous take here.)

When does the blue sky countdown for the Asian Games in Guangzhou begin?

The sticker on the right with the Transformer emblem translates as: “Don’t get too close or I will transform.” I saw the car parked on 大兴胡同Daxing Hutong.

A tank crosses the Gate of Heavenly Peace during the People's Republic of China's 60th Anniversary parade.

By kouxiansheng

From my flickr account:

“I was among the 1.3 billion people in the People’s Republic of China who didn’t receive an invitation to the state-sponsored celebration of the PRC’s 60th Anniversary in Tiananmen Square. So like most of the masses in China, I watched the China Central Television broadcast of the parade from my living room.

At the conclusion of the program, I set up a tripod in front of my TV and set a timer for every 30 seconds. Occasionally, I flipped channels.”

To see the series of TV screen shots, click here or see the link above.

10086, the Customer Service center of China Mobile  (a state-owned enterprise) sent me and millions of other China Mobile subscribers an SMS with a poem celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the People’s Republic of China. Receiving it reminded me of a recent David Bandurski post on the China Media Project (about Control 2.0), while reading it reminded me of propaganda passages of the 60s. I’ve translated it below.

During the motherland’s 60th year of long life,
Fresh flowers and sacred fire fill the towers,
The national anthem resonates from North to South,
The colored flag floats in the dye of Cathay;
Septuagenarians swell with happy tears,
Elated youth laugh with smiling pupils,
The whole nation is jubilant, welcoming the national celebration,
Happily passing the golden autumn!

时值祖国六十寿,
鲜花圣火满城楼,
国歌嘹亮传南北,
彩旗飘飘染神州;
古稀老人益喜泪,
欢欣稚子笑盈眸,
举国欢腾迎国庆,
欢欢喜喜度金秋!

shi zhi zuguo liushi shou,
xianhua shenghuo man chenglou,
guoge liaoliang chuan nanbei,
caiqi piaopiao ran shenzhou;
guxi laoren yi xilei,
huanxin zhizi xiao ying mou,
juguohuanteng ying guoging,
huanhuanxixi du jinqiu!

Update:

My friend Abel Segretin (who corresponds for the Libe and blogs at Chinoiseries–both in French) suggested that 神州 Shenzhou, an old name for China meaning “divine,” could also be translated as Cathay. I made the change above. He also noted that 飘飘 piaopiao means “floating” whereas I’d liberally translated it as “fluttering.” I made that change above as well.