More than 500 workers began turning Tian'anmen Square into an
Olympic and revolution-themed party venue.
The work started on Tuesday night ahead of the National Day on
October 1 which marks the 58th anniversary of the founding of the
People's Republic of China.
More than 400,000 flowers and plants will be used to decorate
the square in downtown Beijing and scale models of the Acropolis in
Athens, the Great Wall and the Olympic torch will be constructed,
similar to last year's replicas of the Potala Palace and the Three
Gorges Dam.
According to the Municipal Bureau of Landscape and Forestry, a
central flower terrace, surrounding a fountain, will depict four
Chinese characters that read "Wan Zhong Yi Xin," meaning "millions
of people, one mind."
A flower terrace on the western part of the square will feature
models of the Temple of Heaven and three scenes marking the history
of the Communist Party of China: the Nanhu Boat in Zhejiang
Province, on which the first CPC national congress was held in
1921; the venue of the Zunyi Meeting held during the Long March in
Guizhou Province in 1935, and the Yan'an Pagoda in Shaanxi
Province, the key landmark in a city that became known as a Chinese
revolutionary base from the mid-1930s.
The display will remain in place for the 17th National Congress
of the Communist Party of China on October 15.
(Xinhua News Agency September 6, 2007)
