Illustration: Chen Xia/GT

The rows of red chairs recently featured in China's V-Day military parade have now started a new life at Beijing's Shougang Park. On September 3, these same chairs bore witness to an event that filled countless Chinese people with immense pride. Today, they are extending such shared national sentiment, not through TV screens, but by offering interactions with passersby.       

These red chairs have been placed in the special zone in Shougang Park where the 2025 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) was held from Wednesday to Sunday, serving both domestic and global visitors. Alongside them, the other two types of "parade chairs," an olive green set and a gold set, have also been relocated. They are now scattered around public spaces such as the Taoranting and Yuyuantan parks. They will also be entering auditoriums at various primary and secondary schools across Beijing. 

In other words, the 50,000 chairs used during the V-Day event have all "retired" and opted for a form of "re-employment." What is the value behind repurposing these chairs? Given their simple functionality, the answer is they carry a shared cultural sentiment that sets them apart from their "peers." 

Beginning with the chairs' most obvious aspect, their visual aesthetics, the three colors were not randomly chosen but were inspired by "the state medals awarded to soldiers in 1955," Chen Weiping, the color designer for the September 3 event, told the Global Times. The red symbolizes the dignity of the nation, the gold reflects the luster of the national emblem, while the olive green represents the color of the Chinese People's Liberation Army's uniforms and also signifies world peace. 

Designed with profound symbolism in mind, they serve not just as seats, but as mediums conveying a cultural narrative. Yet, the story they carry is not confined to any specific space or event, but remains fluid. This is precisely why these chairs can be installed across diverse locations. In other words, the more spaces they occupy, the more likely people can be reminded about the story behind them.

"I'm taking my grandson to see the chairs this weekend, although he is too little to understand how once-of-a-life-time it [China's V-Day military parade] was, especially for us old people. I eventually can explain this better to him when he grows up, especially with a photo of him sitting on these chairs," Shan Yuejuan, a 54-year-old grandfather in Beijing's Haidian district, told the Global Times.  

Shan's remark gives one pause. It seems the story behind the chairs belongs not only to those who know it, but can also be passed down through the generations to those who don't. Ultimately, it is through daily interactions between the chairs and people that the country's national memory is most vividly continued.

Imagine, if these chairs were put on display in a museum, the public might see them, but the distance between "viewer and viewed object" would remain great. However, when they are in a public space like a park, the "viewers" become first-hand users. They can sit on chairs to chat, take selfies with close friends, or simply enjoy snacks. 

These seemingly trivial interactions break the "sense of formality" the chairs once had as ceremonial objects, making them gently fit into ordinary people's lives. By using the chairs, ordinary people can transform the overall national narrative into individual experiences, which will eventually make them feel closer to the national commemoration. This is also the reason why an exhibitor at CIFTIS told media that sitting on one of the chairs made him feel like he was watching the parade. 

For citizens, these chairs extend their memory of the parade. But, for society as a whole, repurposing these chairs actually reflects sustainability and well-organized planning of public resources. 

Take the arrangement of this batch of chairs as an example. They were first assigned to major social institutions, including the Beijing Municipal Education Commission, the Beijing Municipal Forestry and Parks Bureau, the Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau, as well as district governments such as those of Tongzhou and Fengtai. These departments then matched the chairs with their subordinate resources, ensuring the retired chairs became more than an addition to a space, but an essential component of a site's new scenery. At Xiangshan Park, a set of green chairs perfectly blend with the local themed garden.  

The detailed consideration in this arrangement reflects the wisdom of Chinese society when it comes to repurposing public resources to benefit the people. 

This wisdom has been even more evident in recent years through the utilization of legacies left by large-scale sport events such as the Olympics and the 2025 World Games that ended in August in Chengdu. So far, many of the Games' venues, such as the one used for archery, have been turned into public leisure spaces. Even smaller equipment such as air conditioners and air curtains have been reused at local schools.

Be it the repurposed chairs, air conditioners or sports fields, these examples allow people to see China's capability of hosting global mega-events while also maximizing the value of these occasions. 

When grand national events are integrated with refined urban governance and people's lifestyles, they will create a more inclusive scene, one that shapes collective memory while nurturing individual well-being.

The author is a reporter with the Global Times. life@globaltimes.com.cn