While everyone is celebrating Independence Day, I was sitting in my room missing home. China's Independence Day is called Chinese National Day. It is celebrated on October 1st every year to commemorate the founding of People’s Republic of China. On that day, lots of large-scaled activities are held nationwide.
People's Republic of China was founded on September 21, 1949 and on October 1, 1949, the People's Republic of China was inaugurated. An official victory celebration and ceremony was held in Tian’anmen Square in Beijing. Chairman Mao Zedong raised the first Communist national flag of China in person amid 300,000 soldiers and other people who were gathered at the square.
Generally the National Day holiday is fixed at October 1st to 7th with adjacent weekend days being mandatory workdays to make up for lost time. If Mid-Autumn Festival falls within this period, as it does in about one out of five years, the holiday period generally gets a day or two longer. Generally, most family spend that time traveling around the country.
Every year on October 1st, there is a flag raising ceremony at Tian'anmen Square. The square is decorated festively with flags and portraits. Uniformed troops march out to start the flag raising ceremony exactly at sunrise. In order to watch it and have a good spot, you need to be there at least an hour before sunrise. The entire ceremony only lasts three minutes but thousands of people will be there watching and singing along the national anthem as the troops raises the flag. There will also be fireworks and light shows in major cities.
