Simultaneous Celebration through Network

October 1^st is the National Day of the People’s Republic of China. Presumably, people in China will have a week-long holiday for celebration. Due to the well-renowned density of population, people around me (I called them my bosom community) increasingly tend to travel abroad in order to avoid all those swarmed resorts of interest. But this year, it would be somewhat exceptional; there are three reasons, first, it is the 60-year birthday of the Republic China; second, the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival from the Lunar Calendar, when is deemed as the other family union day as the Spring festival, overlaps with the national holiday this time; the last but never the least, I, as part of my bosom community, have left far away from them and been in the New York City for 3 months. This is the first time that I will not physically stay with my mother country and my family for celebrating both. However, I shall feel gratitude for living in the IT era with internet bloom. It is the mysterious invisible matrix that bridges the gap between me and the joyous galas thousands of miles away.

Two friends in my community, who are IT-inclined, decide to coordinate a simultaneous celebration in Beijing (the Capital of China), Shanghai (my hometown, where most of my fellows live) in the morning of October 1^st and in the New York City, where I and other Chinese students in Columbia will have a party together at the night of September 30^th (the time difference between China and EST is 12 hours, NYC is 12 hours behind). Think of the picture, back in China, 1.4 billion of Chinese people are united while 14 Chinese Columbian are gathering in my cozy apartment in Manhattan for the same reason, China’s 60^th national anniversary, without any jetlag. For sure, We need several devices to make that happen, three set of devices logged in three terminal cities respectively, consists of two computers, PC-Cameras, projectors and screens,  telecom and there is no doubt, INTERNET access is a must.

 Time and Venue: 4:00-6:00pm, September 30 2009 EST, Columbia B-School, Uris Hall

Event: Quiz China

 My friend, CHEN Hua, second-year MBA student, is a fair lady from Beijing, who is the organizer of “Quiz China”. As the first session of our celebration, Quiz China invites two senior students from Peking University association in China, who is the perspective student of Columbia, as the co-host with Hua through PC terminals. They are given hundreds of credits for their early work with all their excitement in the dawn time. The reception is set up in the lobby of Uris Hall, which is laden with Chinese disserts and souvenirs donated by us. We invite passengers to take a quick rest and make a transcending trip to China. Those remote hosts will propose some interesting questions to passers-by. Well prepared by them, these questions are all about China, varying from chopsticks to the Great Wall, from 2008 Olympics to the Yangtze River. Up here, Hua is the referee to grant little gifts to people who get a bingo or who make a tolerable tiny lapse. People appear to be very interested in our promotion; those who win the quiz can hardly decide the gifts among moon cakes (which is the traditional dissert for Mid-Autumn Festival, and will only be served during that season.), chopsticks with antique covers as well as Peking opera masks. The winners with the first grade, awarded as the “China Hands”, were warmly invited to attend our continuous party with China at night.

 Time and Venue: 7:00pm-12:00am, Sep. 30-Oct.1 2009 EST, Columbia Teacher’s College

Event: Full Moon Party and the National Parade

Although two days ahead the Mid-Autumn Festival, which is regarded as the night with the fullest moon (the night of the 15^th days on the 8^th months of Chinese Lunar Calendar), the beautiful moon is hanging up high in unclouded sky of Manhattan. Chinese students as well as our honored China Hands are having Banquet in the Teacher’s College. This session is a happy hour for enjoying food and the glory of the full moon; while in the early morning of China, people swarm to the Tian’anmen Square or convene together wait for the National Parade. In Shanghai, my friends and my parent are invited to Allen’s House. Allen Zhang, Columbia 1999 MIA Alumni, now working in IBM Shanghai office, is my referrer for SIPA application. He was the focal point in Shanghai, for this event.

 Time’s up. Allen’s house in Shanghai is connected with teacher’s college by Skype, while people in Beijing, who are my previous colleague convened in the offices, are connected with Allen through the telecommunication terminal. At about 9 o’clock, we log on the webpage of the CCTV (the China Central Television Station) get ready to watch the broadcasting of Tian’anmen Parade through its overseas channel on line. The broadcasting is on air in Chinese, English and other languages through the internet to viewers in the world wide. At 9:00 sharp is the magnificent flag-raising ceremony. John Gao in Beijing proposes that we all stand up and sing the National Anthem. I cry at that moment, it seems to be something out of my blood. Due to the immense click rate, the image gets stuck at some point. but this night, we share the time with people in China instantly.

 Time and Venue: Oct. 1-Oct.7 Internet Forum

 During the next few days, we are sharing news and information on local media regarding report on the anniversary ceremony through our community-based forum. 

 For example, I share the reports from the New York Times that “China’s leaders marked their nation’s 60^th anniversary with a precision display of military bravado”; instead, people on the forum reply that the military parade deserve a “Bravo”. Hua also find a very ingenious video podcast on vimeo, the linkage is as follows, http://www.vimeo.com/6853452. I am so proud of my motherland. Our discussions and sharing for celebration is going on.

I shall say, thanks to the prosperity of the internet, that people staying overseas, their sentiment on homeland and family is extremely consoled. The contribution of internet to the human society is unprecedented and invaluable in that sense. What’s more important, the popularization makes people believe that technology is nothing but something bring changes into daily chores. Internets are fundamentally and unavoidably altering and our lives and making lives closer.

No related posts.