National Day Holiday

Everyone in China is on vacation for the National Day Holiday-a celebration of the founding of the PRC. Everyone is off from work for a full week. I will be heading to Fujian province later today for 6 days to visit with a Chinese friend of mine. Here is a map of China and its 23 provinces (click to enlarge). You can also see the 2 Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau. National Day is celebrated by everyone except the 23rd province...that rebellious child Taiwan. I live in Jiangxi (pronounced Jiangshi) province in the capital city of Nanchang which is for some reason not on the map and I will be heading to Fujian province later today for 6 days to visit with a Chinese friend of mine. We will go to Fuzhou (pronounced Fudzjou), the capital city of Fujian, also not on the map, and we will go to Xiamen (pronounced Shiamen) which is on the map and purportedly has beautiful beaches--though most Chinese do not know how to swim and think it's very dangerous to swim and as you may recall my earlier post, they aren't too fond of the sun either, so the beaches may be empty. I also plan to climb the famous Wuyi mountain range in Fujian. If any of you have seen Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and remember the last scene in the movie where the girl jumps off the top of a mountain where there is a temple, apparently I will get to see several Buddhist temples just like it on these mountains. In honor of National Day, here are a few pictures from the Bayi Square in the center of Nanchang-my city and the birthplace of the Chinese Red Army. There is a big flag monument you can see in 2 pictures, some red flags, a big red star, and a big Wal-Mart...all appropriate symbols of China.