Changing China
Giant on the move
China’s close shave
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******How would you like to sport a Tiananmen square or the Great Wall on your head ? Then just step into Jiangshanxiu salon.******National flags are placed at the entrance of the salon in Zhengzhou, capital of Henan province in central China and staff wear naval uniforms and the song ‘Ode to the Motherland’ plays in the background.******Ahead of the 60th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China, which will be celebrated countrywide on October 1, salon manager Cao Bin has given more than 30 customers patriotic cuts and styles – and says that’s only the start.******You can also choose a design from the real life models — the staff.******Becoming a walking work of art is absolutely free, it will just cost you time as some designs can take anything up to two hours.******Click below to watch the hairdressers in action.********* ******Video credit: REUTERS/Max Duncan******Photo credit: REUTERS/Donald Chan
From Canada, looking back
I first visited China in June 1997. It was eight years after the Tiananmen crackdown, weeks before the Hong Kong Handover back to China marking the end of British rule, and over a decade before the 2008 Summer Olympics. It was a family trip — my parents were looking forward to a college reunion with classmates they hadn’t seen in decades and I had just finished my second year of university. I was looking forward to finally seeing the place I’d heard so much about.
Born and raised in Canada, I grew up listening to stories of the past — lessons in history, humanity, tragedy and survival. And like many children of immigrant families, there is a constant search for a balance and a place between the different worlds that shape our identity.
“Is this an anonymous interview?”
I spent a year working at a university in China in 2002. With the anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown looming, I wanted to solicit some thoughts from my former students. Unusually — but perhaps not surprisingly in retrospect — I did not hear back. I did hear from friends who are currently studying abroad. The following views are from one 27-year-old originally from Fujian province, who came two years ago to do a Master’s degree in Canada. Anonymity was requested.
Caption: Undergraduates stand in front of a Chinese national flag after three minutes of mourning for Sichuan earthquake victims at Fudan University in Shanghai May 12, 2009. REUTERS/Aly Song
Tiananmen Square – June 4
Tiananmen Square - June 4, 2008.
Pictures by David Gray.
Nineteen years after the crushing of the pro-democracy protests and 65 days before the opening of the Beijing Olympic Games, check out Chris Buckley’s feature on the ’08 generation and this video report on China’s new nationalism.
