For those in China, you’ll hear many people saying “Guó qìng jié kuai le” which pretty much means have a happy national holiday day. Be sure to say it back if someone says it to you. There seems to be a lot of happy faces around this week – mostly because many have the week off and get to hang out with their family and friends. People we talk to are also nationalistic and very proud of where China is in the world right now.

For us, we decided to catch the fireworks which kicked off in Century Park last night. I’ve heard there will be fireworks on the 3rd and the 6th of October as well. Tickets to get into the park are 200RMB but if you stand outside the gate of Century Park you can easily see the same view.

More from Golden week later. Happy Birthday China.

Update:To see the whole parade see the video on YouKu here. Also, here are some fantastic photos on Flickr by Shian Chen:

Update #2:Here’s a nice time-lapse of the video from the UK’s Gaurdian:

China’s 60th Anniversary national day – timelapse and slow motion – 7D and 5DmkII from Dan Chung on Vimeo.

Related posts:

• Thank you China sky dusters
• National Day photo exhibition

We accidentally came across the show while taking a shortcut though the exhibition centre grounds – many locals were lining up to get in which is usually a tell-tale sign of something good is going on. We’re not sure if were were supposed to pay but it looks like the event is actually free (Read: nobody askef for us for money).

Once inside the exhibition starts at the beginning of the People’s Republic of China back in 1949 and follows the history of the current nation in many fantastic photos.

If you’re walking past the area it’s worth popping in just to see the photos. All of the descriptions for the photos are in Chinese so if you cannot speak or read the language then it might be worth grabbing a friend who can help. Here are just a few of the pictures from the event:

Shanghai 1990 – 2009

I can’t imagine another city has seen such crazy growth as this. Perhaps Dubai.

Deng Xiaoping with Margaret Thatcher

The Potala Palace

Interesting shot of the Potala Palace.

Technology

Armed Forces

My guess is that this photo was in the 1950s, possibly around the same time as the Korean War.

Mao and Nixon

The famous meeting that helped shape the world as we know it today.

Minorities

There are more than 55 different ethnic minority groups in China. Unfortunately, I couldn’t read the sign or tell by the picture which group this is.

I love China

At the end of the show you can write your own message to China. This was one of them.

What: Shanghai photo exhibition celebrating 60 years of the PRC
Where: Shanghai Exhibition Centre (Across the road from the Portman’s Ritz Carlton on Nanjing Lu – The Russian-looking building.
How much: Free (I think)

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Related posts:

• Happy National Day, China
• Photos: iTool Shanghai
• Shanghai Photography Night