Thursday, October 01, 2009

Parade and Gala for the 60th Anniversary Celebration

I went to a friend's house and watched the parade on the CCTV Live last night. While it was very impressive, I didn't feel it was as spectacular as I expected. Some sections seemed too long. You may watch it online too.

Instead, the gala and firework were much more spectacular. Directed by Zhang Yimou, the gala lasted for three hours and it had over 60,000 performers, most of whom are not professional singers and dancers. The 9,000 sq. m (90,000 sq. ft.) screen was the centerpiece of the performance. The screen changed over 800 times, all of which was done by 4,028 soldiers holding LED lights. It was amazing to see thousands of people perform traditional dances from different provinces and minority regions, along with popular melodies and songs performed by the most well-known Chinese singers. The fireworks, which were directed by Cai Quogiang, a well-known fireworks and installation artist in the West, who also directed the fireworks in 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, was even more impressive with patterns of paintings, pigeons and hundreds of other shapes. You can watch all of these spectacular shows with four chapters online.


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