Just A Face In The Crowd

Beijing

A stack of beers followed the duck down last night which meant I began Chinese National Day with a shocking hangover. The whole country is on holiday as the people celebrate 55 years of the People's Republic. Tiananmen Square is rammed, and given the size of the place that means there's an awful lot of people out. Pushing through the crowds earlier was quite an experience, my obvious height advantage giving me a great view of the masses. No tanks and a real paucity of giant placards this year but there were plenty of red flags on all the buildings and in everyone's hands. It all looks a bit sinister at first but the atmosphere is very relaxed, people have come from all over the country to fly kites and generally mill about looking happy. The level of national pride here is greater than in any other country I've visited, even America. Being just one foreigner in the midst of tens of thousands of Chinese makes you realise something very important about China: There are loads of people! Everywhere! Just incredible, I still can't get my head round it.