National Day: A Mix of Patriotic Fervor and Pandemic Controls

China is passing another muted public holiday, as authorities maintain tight travel restrictions.

China celebrated the 73rd anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic with a variety of public events on Oct. 1. Thousands gathered overnight in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square to see the famous flag-raising ceremony; thousands more did the same in Tianfu Square, in the southwestern city of Chengdu.

Yet the rest of the weeklong public holiday looks set to be muted, as many local authorities have imposed heavy travel restrictions in the name of controlling COVID-19. Anyone travelled to Xishuangbanna — a popular tourist destination in southwest China’s Yunnan province — may face seven days of centralized quarantine when returning back.

Many Chinese have decided to travel to local resorts instead. Others are meeting up with elderly relatives to celebrate the Double Ninth Festival — a day for paying respect to senior citizens, which coincides with the National Day holiday this year.     

People gather in Tiananmen Square for the flag-raising ceremony to celebrate China’s National Day in Beijing, Oct. 1, 2022. VCG

A boy waits at Tiananmen Square for the flag-raising ceremony to celebrate China’s National Day in Beijing, Oct. 1, 2022. VCG

People take photographs of the flag-raising ceremony in Tiananmen Square during National Day in Beijing, Oct. 1, 2022. Bloomberg/VCG

Tourists watch a face-changing routine, a unique part of a Sichuan Opera performance, in Chongqing, Oct. 1, 2022. VCG

Workers take part in a traditional ‘beat the iron flower’ performance in Huaibei, Anhui province, Oct. 1, 2022. VCG

Couples take wedding photos to celebrate their golden wedding anniversaries in Yangzhou, Jiangsu province, Oct. 4, 2022. VCG

A man looks at a mini bookstore converted from a phone booth in Shanghai, Oct. 2, 2022. VCG

Birds stand on the dried-up river bed near Tianxingzhou, a major bridge of the Yangtze River, in Wuhan, Hubei province, Oct. 2, 2022. VCG

A helicopter tries to put out a mountain fire in Jinhua, Zhejiang province, Oct. 2, 2022. VCG

A child receives a COVID-19 test in Sanya, Hainan province, Oct. 4, 2022. VCG

A girl’s umbrella is blown inside-out by heavy wind, in Shanghai, Oct. 4, 2022. Many cities along China’s eastern coastline have experienced temperature drops of more than 10 degrees Celsius this week. VCG

Editor: Dominic Morgan.