Great Wall and the chain of rugged hills through which it snakes, workers are putting the finishing touches to a colossal edifice. The beams of its roof are curved, with golden tiles reminiscent of those that adorn the Forbidden City, 70km to the south-east. The building itself curves, too, in a shape that its architects say resembles a—a traditional Chinese talisman . They say it invokes a longing for fulfilment of the “Chinese dream”.
Many people in the capital are unaware of the scale of what will soon unfold. The site in Yanqing is on the outer periphery of Beijing municipality, far beyond its urban core . The Great Wall at Badaling is Yanqing’s biggest attraction. For now, tourists have little reason to head beyond it to the district’s main town, near to which, on requisitioned farmland, the expo will be held. It will be the biggest international festival in Beijing since it staged the Olympic games in 2008.
To ease the flow of visitors, the city has been on an infrastructure spending spree. There are already two motorways, the7, that lead to Yanqing . But they are frequently congested. On January 1st a new expressway, more than 40km long, was opened. It connects the northern suburbs of the capital with Yanqing. Planning documents for the new road, called the Xing-Yan, make it clear that the expo has been one of the main reasons for building it to this schedule.
But above all, it is the flowers that the party hopes will make its soft-power point. It loves them as a political tool. To mark the anniversary of Communist rule, Tiananmen Square is adorned every year with huge floral arrangements. The centrepiece in 2018 was in the form of a basket-shaped object with petals radiating from its base—17 metres high and 50 metres across—an assemblage of potted plants with, as always, a message .
So they are celebrating the starvation or execution of 78 million Chinese at the hands of Mao. Or is it the 10,000 massacred at Tiananmen Square?
China wastes many more to pretend their fake surface?
Very good. But all oppositions gather near me