Celebrate Now - Jet Fighters Over Beijing

Dan Edwards | Sep 21, 2009 12:30 pm | 18 comments | 3795 reads



While we've all been told not to look outside during preparations for the October 1 National Day parade, the sound of jet fighters screaming over the beijinger office this morning was enough to send a gaggle of staff to the windows in excitement.

After all, the sight of a lone chopper over the capital is rare given the aerial exclusion zone over central Beijing, let alone squadrons of jet fighters and formations of attack helicopters swooping in low over the skyscrapers. All very Apocalypse Now... with less jungle.

The formations were coming in from the east, flying just south of and parallel to Chang'an Avenue, over Tiananmen and then out to the west. The fly-by lasted for about 15 minutes and climaxed with jets releasing streaks of colored smoke.

This is what we could see from the beijinger office window down on Jianguomenwai Dajie, east of Tiananmen Square.

Comments

New comments are displayed first.

Comments

beijem's picture beijem Submitted by Guest on Tue, 09/22/2009 - 11:33

i want to see the parade and not just from my window, which would be impossible anyway cus i'm on the ground floor but any chance 'commoners' can get to see it? such a shame they don't allow the public to buy tickets to attend the parade, i think it'll be an awesome event.

texan1's picture texan1 Submitted by Guest on Tue, 09/22/2009 - 11:15

Ah, yes, I read the Global Times article. I was afraid the article would say that they were going to close the airport the whole day. My flight from Shanghai leaves 9:05am, and the stories are saying all flights between 7:00 and 9:00 are delayed or cancelled. I just hope that the people on those flights don't bump me off my flight.

Can't change my flight, either. It's all part of the experience, I won't be the first person stuck in an airport for hours.

texan1's picture texan1 Submitted by Guest on Tue, 09/22/2009 - 10:19

I keep getting "Access Denied, You are not authorized to access this page" when I try to look at that article. I've seen other articles mentioning the airport closure for 3 hours in the morning, but none (so far) mentioning total closure. Guess I'll bring some movies to watch in the airport, waiting for my plane to be cleared to take off.

Jerry's picture Jerry Submitted by Guest on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 16:34

Texan1 - if you can manage, I'd suggest postponing your arrival by one day and getting in on the 2nd. The 1st is going to be pretty hectic with restrictions and disruptions galore. Good luck!

Jerry Chan, Digital Marketing & Content Strategy Director

texan1's picture texan1 Submitted by Guest on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 16:24

Lovely. I hope enough touristy stuff will be open starting on the 2nd. I wish I had found out about the big party before making my reservations, I would have swapped Beijing with Hong Kong or something.

I read in another post that morning flights from Shanghai into Beijing on the 1st were cancelled. I'm supposed to arrive at 11am, and I haven't seen anything on Hainan Airline's web page. I guess I'll cross my fingers and prepare to wait at the airport in case something does come up.

Sent the hotel an email, I'll see what comes up.

danedwards's picture danedwards Submitted by Guest on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 15:25

Hi Texan1,

Obtaining precise information is always difficult, but I think it's a pretty safe bet that very little, if anything, will be open around Wangfujing on the day of Oct 1. You may also have difficulty getting to your hotel, as roads in the area will either be shut or heavily restricted. You could try calling your hotel and seeing if they have been given any more detailed information.

Register and post your own events on the beijinger website.

texan1's picture texan1 Submitted by Guest on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 15:14

I arrive into Beijing from Shanghai the morning of Oct. 1st, around 11am, and I'm staying through the morning of the 5th. Will anything be open during this time? What will I be allowed to do on the 1st? I'm staying on the south part of Wangfujing.

danedwards's picture danedwards Submitted by Guest on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 14:41

Looking out windows definitely frowned upon - see last week's posts.

http://www.thebeijinger.com/blog/2009/09/17/STOP-PRESS-Major-Disruptions-Tomorrow

http://www.thebeijinger.com/blog/2009/09/14/This-Party-Keeps-Getting-Better-More-Oct-1-Closures

Register and post your own events on the beijinger website.

Validate your mobile phone number to post comments.