Tian’anmen readies for National Day parade

• Source: Global Times
• [17:58 September 24 2009]
• Comments

By Lin Meilian

There are still seven weeks to go before the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China on October 1, but people are already hailing the new look of Beijing.

Workers are busy decorating Tian’anmen Square and Chang’an Avenue, repainting and renovating, which is a common scene before parades to mark important anniversaries.

Liu Yuming, manager of the Beijing Traditional Chinese Architecture Company, involved in the repainting project, told the media that the paint being used, which is mixed with pig’s blood, was widely used during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

“By using it, the Tian’anmen Gate Tower can withstand exposure to weather,” Liu said.

After one month’s redecoration, the 600-year-old Tian’anmen Rostrum looks refreshed, with splendid colors on its painted pillars and carved beams.

Chang’an Avenue, a major thoroughfare in Beijing, which has fallen into a rather weatherworn state after years of tourism, is also undergoing reconstruction, including new road paving and the rebuilding of the bridges on the avenue.

Liu Xiaoming, director of the transportation bureau, said that the construction would not affect the public, as it mainly takes place in the evenings.

However, some residents in Beijing complain that Tian’anmen Square and Chang’an Avenue are over-beautified.

Some criticize the renovation project, which shows the outside world a new-look of Beijing, but ignores other old buildings in the residential communities.

Zhang Jinrong, 73, a resident living in a hutong in Xuanwu district, told the Global Times that the dirty graffiti and massive advertising hoardings on the walls of old buildings really bother her.

“It is understandable that Tian’anmen Square should be beautified for the forthcoming National Day, but those low, dilapidated houses also deserve to be reconstructed,” she said.

The renovation- project will be completed by the end of August or early September.