Old Enemies Are Now Neighbors...

Click to see more street pics... Shanghai_walking009

Now that we have a plan and soon will have a place to call home, we are a bit giddy and with giddiness comes confidence and a more relaxed feeling as we travel. It was time to see some of the China you can only really see by being here; breathing the air, interacting with the people in the street, glimpsing the giant military infrastructure that is present but non-intrusive to the point of being shadows.

As many of you know, I was in the Navy for 10 years from 1980 - 1990; ten years of Cold War. I worked in the Naval Security Group, which is a very small part of the Navy in charge of intelligence gathering and denial of intelligence to adversaries. During my time in the military, Russia and China were two of the biggest adversaries we faced, and I could not even consider visiting or seeing either of these countries because of what I was doing with the Navy (it's been so long it doesn't matter now but it was very classified at the time...) and back in the 80's you could not visit these countries - they were just not open to foreigners. So you can imagine how amazing it was for me to not only come to Shanghai, China to live for a year, but yesterday Jennifer and I walked down to the French Concession area and stopped in at the site of the First National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party. Yes, there are guards everywhere and yes they are active military and yes, of course we are living in communist, albeit open and friendly, China. But here I was, out of the Navy 18 years, waiting in line for free(!) tickets so I can walk over to an unobtrusive, small building you would hardly pay attention to if it wasn't so historically significant, so I can visit the site where the Communist Party in China began. You have to understand how cool that is, right?? It will be the same when I take a guided tour of the Kremlin in Moscow later on in life...

The Site of the First National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party is a two story building and the living room downstairs is the place where the First National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party was held, a bunch of guys met and stood around talking at a table, having some tea, and created a revolution. This is akin to our Continental Congress where Jefferson, Adams, Washington, all wealthy, white land owners in the U.S, gathered together to forge out the initial documents and theories of independence for our own country. Well, in China they had the same thing and it was just as profound.

After the May Fourth Movement, many Communist groups emerged nationwide. On July 23, 1921, thirteen Communist groups that were selected from all the Communist groups nationwide and represented over 50 Communists in the country held the First National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party. The Communist International also dispatched two deputies to the congress. On July 30, disturbed by a detective from the Police Bureau in the French Concession, the meeting place had to be moved to a yacht on Jiaxing Lake in Zhejiang Province on the last day. The congress approved the founding of the Chinese Communist Party, passed the Communist Party's Constitution, and elected the central organization. From then on, the Chinese revolution entered a new era.

Much to my chagrin, there was a guard in each room so I could not snap a photo of any of the relics we saw, but I did take advantage of the gift shop and was salivating at the thought of purchasing such famous writings, key chains, and even a Christmas ornament with the face of Mao on it. I opted for a set of 4 postcards and will have them framed when I get back to the USA, which I have no idea when that will be...if only my old Navy buddies could have seen it too, time marches on and so should we..