2010 Shanghai World Expo

Hai Bao, meaning "treasure of the sea," looks at you with big bright eyes and a large, unchanging smile. As the ambassador of the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, he bears the message: I am embracing friends from all over the world with my open arms and confident smile. This is what visitors, tourists, and representatives from throughout the world see—a little blue character that is welcoming, happy, and secure; so, this must clearly mean the people of China are the same way. But is this really the case?

The next images that I envision come out of a hypothetical horror scene from a cartoon. It is dark, rainy, and ominous and little Hai Bao is trapped in a corner being terrorized by the Chinese government to never stop smiling and looking cheerful. Regardless of how much he is frightened, that same exact smile stays glued to his face as he is not allowed to express any other form of emotion. Similar to Hai Bao’s unwavering happy face, many critics of the Expo were silenced in order to uphold this perfect image. Some reporters, like Hong Kong’s Apple Daily, were banned from reporting even though they were initially given a license to document the event. In addition, a Shanghainese punk band criticizing the government and event were deleted off the internet.

In connection, this theme of “Better City, Better Life” evokes the same questions as Hai Bao does. Is it really a better city? And who is enjoying this better life? The theme itself revolves around the idea of the city and urbanization being the better way of life, leaving subtle inferences to be made about what Shanghai thinks about rural life. The 2010 World Expo website explaining the theme states, “With the urbanization, more and more people become urban dwellers. People’s life is inevitably affected by the development of cities.” This description of this inevitability of Chinese people to urbanize is slightly worrisome because it completely disregards the rights, desires, and lives of rural people, who may or may not want to urbanize. This continual idea of old versus new, traditional versus modern seems to be a repeating theme throughout China’s popular culture—the two constantly clash with one another, but the latter seems to be winning. What does this say for marginalized people of China?

There are further contradictions in the Expo’s theme and message of sustainable economic development. Another statement on the Expo website says, “People’s life and development of the cities are closely related. With the rapid process of urbanization, the interaction between cities and the biological circle as well as the resources on earth have become more and more strong. The relationship among people, city and earth runs through the urbanization. The three will become an inseparable complex.” People, city, and earth will become inseparable? That must mean the city is going to be good for the earth through urbanization with all of its fossil fuel excretions, deforestation, and polluting of the land.

Accordingly, an article posted by NPR discusses the question of the actual sustainability of the 2010 World Expo. There were 56 pavilions built for the Expo and only the four China ones will remain, meaning 52 will be torn down. This hardly resonates with sustainability practices and leaves the issue of what is to be done with all the left over material used to build these grand structures.

As magnificent as the 2010 World Expo is, it is important forget about what occurs behind the scenes when the grandeur is so easily distracting. China has made a lot of progress in development and has seemed so inviting to the rest of the world; however, there is still a lot to be said about its practices of human rights and its treatment of its own people.

Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony

The 2008 Beijing Olympic ceremony was utterly spellbinding. It was an eye-popping, jaw-dropping extravaganza that celebrated and showcased hundreds of years of Chinese history and traditional culture. It is without a doubt that Director Zhang Yimou and choreographer Zhang Jijang had outdone themselves in this magnificent event that was cleverly accomplished with pure artistry.

The Beijing Olympic ceremony metaphorically can be seen as China’s grandeur entrance to the global stage of world-wide importance. At the cost of over $40 billion for the Olympics Games, over $100 million just for the opening ceremony; The Chinese regime has really demonstrated and flaunt their prowess as a communist nation to pull off such a feat.

The drumming performance was a very powerful piece. As the massive drummers filled the stadium and roar, it is undeniable that a statement as been made. The performance was colossal and executed with great precision and vast energy, almost militaristic. I felt the piece was one that symbolizes a powerful unity that can be translated as communist strength. The drummers are uniform and completely disciplined in their performance. Not one drummer stood out, each simply was a part of a whole entity. It promotes a sense of a collectivism rather than individualism.

As the sparkles of dust come together to form the Olympic rings, vivid fairies can be seen gracefully floating around. Not soon after, the crowd cries in awe as the fairies magically lifts the Olympic rings suspended in the air. When I saw this scene, I automatically thought of the Wuxai genre. I couldn’t help but smile to see this incorporated into the opening act. I thought it was very strategic the way they play into this commercialized fascination that is prevalent in films such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hero, House of Flying Daggers, etc. Simultaneously, the performance also reminds me of Disney productions, specially Disneyland and its midnight firework showcase with Tinker Bell flying across the sky. I thought it was interesting that it was kind of a mixture of these two very dominant Hollywood theatrics, however coincidental might it may be.

The center piece would have to be scroll performance. It was a harmonious piece that brought together many traditional cultural arts such as calligraphy, dancing, music, and natural elements. It was this collective artwork that truly animated these various cultural forms. Again, it was a piece that was produced through massive manpower and dedication.

Overall, the Beijing Olympic ceremony was an extraordinary success. The CCP has made their statement that China is a rising nation and continues to grow industrially, economically, and culturally. It was a proclamation of power and unity. Though however politically driven it may be, it is unquestionable that the Beijing Olympics and opening ceremony is symbolism of Chinese national pride and glory.

Beijing Opening Ceremony

The Opening performance of the Beijing Olympics was China’s turn at showing the world just what they were made of. China finally had the chance to show the world that they are not far behind you; in fact, it is possible that they have already surpassed you in some areas if not most. The performance by the drummers showed all the drummers dressing in rather Chinese traditional clothes, with red being the main color they wore and tried to display. I think this is because the Chinese flag is also red, so it makes sense to use red to display China’s prowess. Even when they were using glowsticks to hit the drums and to wave to the audience, the colors of the glowsticks were red. The number of drummers is also a sight to see, as it can also serve as a sign from China to the outside world proving their large population and therefore abilities. Of course, most already knew that China had the most population in the world, but many questioned the ability of the Chinese since much of that population consist of people living in the countryside, but such a display of perfection from so many drummers serves as a sign to everyone else that not only does China have the highest population, we are also individually very adept too.

Followed by the drum performance was the display of fireworks being put up in areas all over Beijing, Tiananmen and the areas that used to serve as imperial China. Although displaying fireworks is nothing new nowadays, I kind of think of it as China’s way of declaring their own independence from every other country, that they do not need the help of any foreign country anymore, that they can flourish on their own as they have already shown the rest of the world and will continue to show that ability. After the fireworks was a lighting display of the Olympic sign while there are traditional dancers dressed in long traditional robes floating in the sky, similar to House of Flying Daggers as the commentators were talking about. They also talked about Zhang Yimou, who was the director of House of Flying Daggers, and his role in the preparation of this opening ceremony. Afterwards, a little girl starts singing while once again, she is wearing a red dress standing on a red podium while the lights in the stadium are displaying red. O c’mon that is just excessive. I know you want to prove to the world how strong you have become, but you don’t have to rub it in everyone’s face.

Other than that, China also displayed many traditional Chinese feats, such as the portrayal of calligraphy, the dancers dressed in black who were painting on the canvas that had appeared in the middle of the stadium while the man plays gu zheng in the background. Everything we see here shows traditional Chinese roots. Its as if China is trying to etch into the minds of the rest of the world the defining features of ancient China and to not forget that this is the country that surpassed (or will surpass) your own country.
I also think it was a very big honor for Zhang Yimou to be chosen as the director of the opening ceremony. Of course, because of this he will become even more known and famous, but other than that I think he did a splendid job at displaying the ancient cultures and traditions of China. I’m sure most of the people sitting in that audience at that time would not forget all that they saw, and those who saw it on TV or the internet will also remember the elegance of Zhang Yimou’s abilities.

Candy Review

"This book exists because one morning as the sun was coming up I told myself that I had to swallow up all of the fear and garbage around me, and once it was inside me I had to transform it all into candy. Because I know you all will be able to love me for it." - Mian Mian

Candy by Mian Mian is spun around a world of love, sex, drugs and rock & roll. It’s no wonder that this book was banned by the Chinese government for four months after its release. Despite that, it became a huge sensation in underground China because of the pirated copies that were being distributed illegally.

After the suicide of her classmate, Hong decides to drop out of her competitive high school and moves to Shenzhen, a Special Economic Zone. There, she immerses herself in the world of drugs, sex and rock & roll. Soon, she meets Saining, an aspiring musician, and they fall in love but in very destructive way. The novel shows love in a twisted way as Hong and Saining fall in and out of love. Hong and Sianing live the degenerate lifestyle wandering around not doing much but being sucked into the worlds of addicts, prostitutes and other such vices. Mian Mian writes in both first person and third person which give the reader insight into not only the narrator’s life but those around her as well. The author also uses very descriptive and candid portrayals of the people around Hong that the reader gets a clear understanding of how the youthful crowd lives in Shenzhen.

For me, the idea of the disillusioned youth in China at the time and the changing economy did not really register in my mind as I read the novel. I enjoyed the novel purely for the candid and blunt way Mian Mian writes. The swear words, references to drugs and the blunt nature of how she describes her life kind of reminds me of my friends who are smart but oddly self-destructive. Even if you are not involved in the world of sex, drugs and rock and roll, there is something about the book that is relatable. The lifestyle that Hong and her friends lead can be seen here in the US. In fact, you might even have a few friends that lead a similar lifestyle. The idea of the hard partying, lost souls that are trying to find themselves is nothing new but somehow the novel does not come off as clichéd. Maybe it is due to the setting of the novel, where the traditional views and rules are being casted aside but Candy comes off as a refreshing tale.

2008 Beijing Opening Ceremony

The opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2010 Shanghai World Expo were opportunities for China to showcase what they have achieved in both technological and cultural aspects. The 2008 Beijing Olympics was directed by Zhang Yimou who had put together a spectacular ceremony for the world to see. Zhang Yimou incorporated the latest technology into traditional Chinese culture utilizing huge LCD screens, complex dance choreography, and awe-inspiring visuals. However, it seems as though behind all the spectacles and bright lights were massive amounts of controversy regarding human rights and preparations for the ceremony.

Liu Yan, known to be a famous Chinese dancer, fell from a platform that was 3 meters high during rehearsal and as a result sustained spinal injuries. Due to the injury Liu Yan is now paralyzed from the waist and downward even after a six hour operation. Even though Zhang Yimou is apologetic towards this incident, I still see that China as a whole is to blame for the fate of Liu Yan. I understand the pressure that China must have been under in order to produce a performance that will wow the audience and viewers worldwide, but I believe because of their yearning to achieve this, they were careless in preparation thus Liu Yan having to face this accident.

Another controversy with the opening ceremony deals with the singer Lin Miaoke who lip-synched to the song Ode to the Motherland by Yang Peiyi, who stood behind the scenes during the performance. It is reported that this decision was made last minute and I wonder how devastated Yang Peiyi was after much preparation and excitement to show the world her own talents. Instead it was masked over by Lin Miaoke only because of her better appearance. I believe this is a direct representation of the dark side of China that they still are trying to cover up. Just like how they are faking the truth behind the singing with a beautiful girl, China is also trying to cover up its wrongdoings by showing us this extravagant ceremony.

China already had been under much controversy ever since the Tienanmen Square incident and during the opening ceremony, there seems to be no acknowledgement of those who died in 1989. It seemed as though China had purposely tried to cover up any of the controversies that either happened in the past or was happening the time. I believe showcasing such a spectacular and brilliant ceremony only puts China into much more scrutiny. Though as if China is going to great lengths in order to “make up” for its wrongdoings, it further shows how big the wrongdoings were if we were to compare it to the size and detail to the opening ceremony.

I personally thought the opening ceremony was brilliant and beautiful – never considering the fact that all these tragedies had occurred. To viewers like me, whom had no knowledge of what went on behind all the preparations, will most likely receive the ceremony positively. However, we should always consider if something is so beautiful and perfect, there must be something to hide.

Review of the 2008 Olympic Games and 2010 Shanghai World Expo

The country where one of the four major civilizations began, where people started to write on oracle bones thousands years ago, where paper, gun powder, and fireworks were invented and used for the first time in the world is China. China has the longest history and the most abundant culture in the world. Approximately two centuries ago, however, when the western countries landed on China with advanced technology and science due to the Industrial Revolution, Chinese people realized that China was far behind those countries in terms of technology and science. Ever since, they have been trying to renovate and develop every aspect of China such as economy, science, medicine, military, and culture.

Recently, China has become one of the fastest developing countries in the world, and the Chinese government has been striving to accelerate its economic growth and science development by hosting the 2008 Olympic Games and 2010 Shanghai World Expo in order to catch up with the West; China is also trying to further their goal to become the most powerful country in the world, competing with America. As we witness the process of Chinese development towards a world power, the eyes outside China see certain issues and problems to be concerned and solved—the issue of human rights, the independent movement of major minority peoples, the negative consequences of urbanization, and so on.

At the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, the world was stunned by the magnificent and massive drum and print/opera performance and impressed by the wonderful and aesthetic scroll painting ceremony. Some might say it was possible only because “China” is a communist state and the most populated country. When every country launches such world events, however, they train mostly soldiers and students who are not voluntary and sometimes force people to prepare massive performances in order to impress the world. When I was in military, I also had to prepare for national performances. While I was practicing the performances every day, I had to sacrifice myself and go through hard times to perform well. And yet, when I actually was performing what I had practiced for a long time, this experience not only gave me great satisfaction and achievement, but also gave me the unity and the patriotism for my own country as the audience got impressed and felt united patriotism as well. As for Chinese performers and people, through the performances at the opening ceremony of the Olympics Games, they all felt the same unity as Chinese and patriotism even though they had to endure hardships and difficulties. This is why, of course, hosting international events themselves—Olympics and Expo—provide economic investment and scientific benefits to China from the outside. The Chinese government emphasized “harmony(和)”and unity(同一)—56 different peoples in different costumes symbolizing different cultures as one under the Chinese national flag, in order to not only tell the world that although China has social and political issues China is still united as one and a part of the world, but also implant the idea of unity into Chinese people so that they are proud of being Chinese.

Nonetheless, China has to overcome a pile of problems to truly harmonize between its own peoples within China, urban and rural, the rich and the poor, and industrialization and humanitarianism. As the mascot of the Shanghai World Expo, Haibao(海宝) manifests the meaning of “human-oriented” and harmonious relationship between nature and society, the direction of where China is heading Haibao originated not just from emphasizing the theme, “Better City, Better Life,” which drags China blindly into industrialization and urbanization without concerning itself with genuine harmony among the people and the world. Also, in order to be a new leader of the world, China should not follow unconditionally what other developing or advanced countries did to develop such as South Korea that is dominated by materialism and pariah capitalism losing its own “beautiful and fine customs cultures.” Again, I believe that the most powerful weapon to succeed in the world’s economy and society is innovating endlessly with one another by self-evaluating and accepting criticism, as well as and harmonizing with others based on its own uniqueness and still accepting heterogeneity.

2008 BOCOG

The motto of the Beijing Olympics is “One World, One Dream”. The opening ceremony was meant to show the growth and prosperity of the Chinese nation, as well as unite China with the rest of the world. The ceremony took place on August 8th, 2008, which is very symbolic because the number 8 in China represents prosperity and wealth. Zhang Yimou, Zhang Jigang, and Chen Weiya directed the spectacle. The cost was estimated at $100,000, and the performance received rave reviews from people all over the world. 20,000 performers put on a 3 hour show containing drumming, dancing, storytelling, and martial arts. The performance was divided into two parts: the first part represented the long history of China and the second part put on display the new, modern China. Although the performance was a grand success in many ways, the opening ceremony was also marked with much controversy.

The fact that China was hosting the Olympics in the first place was a topic of debate. Many people from different countries held protests against China hosting the Olympics, mainly because of China’s poor record in terms of human rights. Groups such from all over the world held protests, asking China to be more concerned with the rights of the their people, not the Olympics. Some groups even sent out a plea, asking people to boycott the Olympic games all together. China was put in the hot seat on this subject matter in 1989 with the Tiananmen Square incident, which gained negative attention worldwide. Many feel like China hasn’t improved well enough in terms of human rights to be given the honor of hosting the Olympics.
Another controversial topic occurred following the opening ceremony, when it was revealed that certain parts of the performance were “faked”. For example, a young girl who sung China’s national anthem was lip singing to another young girl’s voice. Chen Qigang, the musical director of the Olympic ceremony, provided an answer for this swap on a Beijing radio station stating, "It was for the national interest. The child on camera should be flawless in image, internal feelings and expression." Many were shocked to hear that the original singer was not allowed to sing because she was not attractive enough. Also during the fireworks display, out of the 29 footprints meant to represent the 29 past Olympic games only one of those was live and the others were added in as effects for the television viewers.

The first half of the ceremony was meant to show the rich history of China, but some questioned if it truly did this, or if only an idealized version of Chinese history was shown. Where were any references to Mao Zedong, the leader who influenced China for three decades? Even Ai Weiwei, an artist who helped design the Bird’s Nest, was displeased with the ceremony saying, "[The government] tried so hard and wasted so much money. The ceremony was stupid, a real wasted opportunity." Despite all of the controversies, many people remain hopeful that the Olympics have given hope to the future generation. Tony Blair, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom said that when he visited China, “These people weren't living in fear, but looking forward in hope. And for all the millions still in poverty in China, for all the sweep of issues -- political, social and economic -- still to be addressed, that was the spirit of China during this festival of sport, and that is the spirit that will define its future. “ He also said, “People ask what is the legacy of these Olympics for China? It is that they mark a new epoch -- an opening up of China that can never be reversed. It also means that ignorance and fear of China will steadily decline as the reality of modern China becomes more apparent.” I believe that despite the controversies and criticisms of the opening ceremony, China proved that it is well on its way to improvements in all aspects of society.