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Nation
Print Edition> Nation
UPDATED: October 2, 2009 NO. 40 OCTOBER 8, 2009
Rehearsing for the Big Day
Tens of thousands of primary and middle school students participate in the grand anniversary pageant
By YUAN YUAN
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KEEPING TIME: Students practice for the National Day parade that marked the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic 

For more than two months, the main topic around the family dinner table of Li Jiayu, a student at Xuefuyuan Primary School in Beijing's Haidian District, has been about the grand pageant that took place on October 1 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

In early July, the Li family, including the son, father, who also teaches at Xuefuyuan, and mother, a teacher at Beijing's Qinghe No.1 Primary School, were all selected by organizers to be part of the pageant.

Since then, practicing for the pageant has been the family's focus. They have discussed the best way to prepare during rehearsals and encouraged each other to keep getting better.

According to official statistics, the mass pageant was made up of 36 formations and six performing groups involving about 100,000 citizens. They were complemented by 60 simulated floats, and a background performance involving 80,000 primary and middle school students.

Dozens of Beijing's colleges, primary and middle schools are included in the pageant drills. About 6,000 students from 35 Haidian District primary schools formed the youngest participants and were the last to pass through Tiananmen Square, said Qiao Jian, a Haidian District government official.

A special preparatory committee for the parade was set up in March. They decided that rehearsals to be held along the Chang'an Avenue parade route would be set for midnight to avoid inconveniencing other people.

For some families, it was not easy to get up at midnight and pick up the children two or three hours later, especially on those occasions when the weather did not cooperate and it started to rain.

"Sometimes we had to get up at midnight for the drills," said Li Jiayu. "It was hard but we also regard it as an interesting experience for the whole family."

More than 100 students from Beijing's two migrant worker children's schools also participated in the parade. Li Wenlong, a grade-six student at Jushan Primary School, also had to get up several times at midnight for rehearsals. His parents are from Shandong Province and very supportive of his part in the parade.

"We planned to send Li to Shandong for summer vacation, but we put it off for the drills. I told my son that we will have many chances to go back home anytime, but it is such a precious opportunity to take part in the grand pageant," his mother told Legal Daily.

Officials adopted interesting methods to train school student participants. They played games to teach them to be more cooperative.

Ji Yulin, a schoolteacher, said running and leg lifting were part of the daily routine to improve the physical fitness of students. "We trained from 7:00 to 10:30 each morning and on weekends, except for a two-week break during the summer vacation."

Luo Zhongqi, a senior at Beijing Language and Culture University, said, "I think participating in the parade helps to cultivate the cooperative spirit."

Dong Zhenggang, a postgraduate student at Tsinghua University, who sported a suntan because of the drills, said students were excited about taking part, making the celebrations more lively and diverse. Moreover, since many school children bury themselves in online games or after-school tutoring, it is good practice for the mind and body to participate in the parade drills, Dong added.



 
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