By staff reporter LI WUZHOU

On October 1, 2009, the Peoples Republic of China spent its 60th birthday throwing a party of unmatched size and extravagance. China Today pays homage to this historic landmark with a 60-year retrospective on both the public festivities and behind-the-scene stories, with musings on the global repercussions of the progress China celebrates this year.

China On Parade

A Feast for 1.3 Billion People

On October 1, 2009, the worlds biggest birthday party was held in Tiananmen Square in central Beijing –200,000 people gathered to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Peoples Republic of China. The rest of the public watched the live broadcast on TV or online, sharing the pride and confidence of a nation rejuvenating itself on its great journey of opening-up and reform.

The centerpiece of the gala was the military parade, the biggest in China so far.Fourteen phalanxes passed Tianamen Gate on foot, consisting of more than 8,000 servicemen and women; and 30 formations of the latest in military technology rolled on after them. They were formally reviewed by Hu Jintao, general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission.

There have been 14 military parades in Tiananmen Square in the history of the Peoples Republic of China, each marking Chinas progress in national defense and military modernization. At the ceremony of the founding of the PRC 60 years ago, almost all the weaponry on display had been seized from enemy forces during the war, and an airforce was not yet established. The nascent navy was represented by a mere dozen “rusty buckets,” also war trophies. Last months dazzling military hardware and an exuberance of ammunition revealed world-class domestic capability and featured independently developed technologies. Chinese leaders have reiterated on many occasions that the build-up of its strength in national defense is solely intended for better protection of national sovereignty, homeland security, territory integrity and world peace, and poses no threat to any other nation. China will never seek hegemony or enter into an arms race.

A highlight of the parade was the detachment of female soldiers, the first presence of this kind in the nations military parades – 387 servicewomen from the PLAs three services marched past the Tiananmen Rostrum in uniforms featuring the distinctly feminine skirt, a novelty that invited waves from President Hu Jintao and sparked thunderous applause from the audience.

The parade was followed by a spectacular civilian pageant involving 100,000 people from all ethnic minorities and all walks of life.Sixty floats did great justice to a variety of themes, but it all began with a military theme: a float carrying 18 veterans from the Liberation War and the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, decked with a replica of the Monument to the Peoples Heroes and a giant painting of Chairman Mao Zedong. The message, lest we forget, is that the founding of the Peoples Republic was a hard-won victory over foreign imperialists, feudalists and bureaucrat capitalists.

The next four sections of the march were dedicated to the opening-up and reform and the amazing transformation of Chinas society, arts and industry. The reform era inaugurated by Deng Xiaoping emancipated Chinas inherent acumen, resourcefulness and productivity, opening the door for her integration into the world. Chinese leaders of the following generations have carried forward the policies and steered the nation into greater prosperity and globalization.

Chinas achievements since 1949 were illustrated in the fifth segment of the parade: 19 groups represented various sectors, including agriculture, industry and education. They reminded the world of the facts:

China feeds 21 percent of the worlds population with less than seven percent of the worlds farmlands. Rusting hulks only 60 years ago, Chinese factories are now churning out products of all kinds bound for families worldwide. After thousands of years of autocratic regimes, China is establishing a complete legal system, and is transiting to the rule of law. Emerging as a nation with a staggering 80 percent illiteracy rate among its people, New China now boasts the largest pool of scientific and technical talent on earth – 42 million.

Highly anticipated entries in the segment included the floats for green energy and environmental protection. Marchers werealigned around an island of icons representing hydropower, turbines and nuclear power. The other floatwas dominated by various hues of green, but the most impressive green power of the day was under the hood: some floats were solely powered by electricity and mobile for up to 100 km after their morning charge. Decades spent in the sole pursuit of industrial development meant a blind eye was turned to environmental damage and the squandering of energy, but China is determined to strike a balance between economic health and natural preservation with “green” sustained growth.

Another popular favorite was Harmonious World. Its members included employees of international companies and foreigners studying and working in China. It expresses the will of Chinese people to join global forces in forging lasting peace and common prosperity. Irreversible globalization ensures China and the rest of the world are growing increasingly interdependent. Since China joined the WTO in 2001, it has been importing, on average, US $687 billion worth of products annually, which sustains 14 million jobs in the exporting countries and regions.

Regional floats were a highlight of the march, emphasizing both the strength of relationships between regions, and their diversity. The 34 entries exhibited the best of the 31 Chinese provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government, plus Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions, and Taiwan. While flaunting the natural beauty and cultural splendor of different areas of the nation, they also stressed the fraternity of the 56 ethnic groups in China.

The march concluded with a tiny perfect army of more than 6,000 children, strolling around a ship-shaped float named Future, playing music and waving wreathes, with thousands of pigeons on the wing above them. The spectators on route stood up to cheer them all on, wishing the motherland all the best on the road ahead.

A Chronicle of Major Events in the Peoples Republic of China (1949-2009)

October 1, 1949 – establishment of the central peoples government of the PRC

1951 - the peaceful liberation of Tibet

1954 - adoption of PRC Constitution at the first National Peoples Congress (NPC).

1958 - construction of Chinas first atomic reactor

1959 - pacification of an armed rebellion in Tibet triggered by the Dalai Lama, and implementation of democratic reform in the region

1964 - the successful test of Chinas first A-bomb

1966 - launch of Chinas first missile with a nuclear warhead

1967 - detonation of Chinas first H-bomb

1970 - orbit of Chinas first man-made satellite

1971 - resumption of Chinas legal status in the United Nations

1972 - issuance of the Sino-US Joint Communiqué.

1976 - end of the 10-year “cultural revolution” (1966-1976)

1977 - reinstatement of Chinas college entrance exam

1978 - the Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee convened in Beijing, shifting the central task of the Party and the country to economic development, and launching the policy of reform and opening-up

1979 - issuance of “Message to Compatriots in Taiwan” suggesting peaceful reunification and proposing postal, trade, air and shipping services across the Taiwan Strait

- approval of four Special Economic Zones (Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Xiamen and Shantou).

- official establishment of diplomatic relations between the PRC and the U.S.

1982 - rural economic reform and all-round implementation of the household contract responsibility system unrolled

- family planning, specifically the “one child policy,” was established as a basic state policy

1984 - opening of 14 coastal cities

1985 - the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta and Xiamen-Zhangzhou-Quanzhou Triangle become national coastal economic open zones

1988 - provincial status accorded to Hainan along with its designation as a Special Economic Zone