Comrades, as we all know, Karl Marx taught us it is not a matter of if the workers of the world will unite, but when and when better than International Workers Day, or May Day. In actuality, May Day celebrations were about as intense as Columbus Day celebrations, aka most people just got the day off and sat around. Still Comrades, as we also know if there was no Communist Party there would be no New China, so some friends and I decided to pay our respects to the Revolutionaries who came before us. Shortly after lunch we started off to the Memorial Hall of the First Congress of the Communist Party of China located in the French Concession neighborhood of Shanghai. As the name suggests, the French Concession was formally under French control so it was a bit easier for radicals and, in the words of Chen Kai-shek, "bandits," like Mao and the Communist Party, to have meetings there. The building still stands as a museum to the early days of the Party. While getting in was free, security was actually quite intense. I would put it at one level below Tienanmen Square level of security and around the level I saw at most of the Republican National Convention in the US. The museum itself is OK, but, unlike many other Communist sites, had signage in both English and Chinese. What is interesting is that the museum split its focus on all delegates to the First National Congress, not just Chairman Mao. I would say the building was comfortable but simple, the nicest things were the museum elements put in after the Communist takeover of the Mainland and a tea set the delegates apparently used. Now I know what you are all wondering, yes they had a gift shop, and yes I did buy a both Mao Badge and a Hammer and Sickle pin. After that, we walked passed Zhou Enlai's, the former Primer of China, old home but we couldn't go in since it was closed for renovations. We than took the subway to dinner. We went to a world famous Pyongyang Korean Restaurant to respect the founders of the Peoples Revolution there. While the Pyongyang restaurants are know for their interesting dinner shows, they are most famous for being owned by the North Korean (Democratic People's Republic of Korea/DPRK) Government. The waitresses and chefs are all imported from the DPRK; apparently the waitresses are the daughters of major Workers Party members and Government officials as waitress at a Pyongyang is a very desirable job. While the food was all authentic Korean it all has a northern flair to it. Many of the dishes were Pyongyang specific, including my Pyongyang Rice in Soup and the Pyongyang Kimchi we got for the table. Furthermore, they do the mishmash of little appetizer things at the beginning of the meal, apparently to show off the vast bounty of Socialist Korea, which I read was a common way for foreigners to eat when touring North Korea. The South Korean guy sitting next to us said that North Korean food is overall less spicy than South Korean food. The food actually wasn't bad, a bit expensive but not bad; the South Korean guy must have liked it since it was his second time there. What is funny is that the Pyongyang restaurant served Budweiser and Coke-a-Cola, in addition to a wide array of Chinese beverages, including wine and beijiu. To be honest, I was a little bummed out by their drink selection, I heard North Korean beer is actually very good and was hoping they had some. Also who ever pays 300RMB, 50USD, for a bottle of Chinese wine is just dumb. To be fair though, they did serve the good for export Tsingtao, not the domestic stuff Ellen's Bar serves/gives away on Thursdays. The meal was just preparation for the main event, a musical extravaganza put on every night at 7:30 by our many lovely Korean waitresses. The waitresses are truly multi-talented, all could play one or two instruments and sing in Korean and Chinese while servicing the customers in Chinese, Korean, and English. The South Korean guy we met could understand most of the songs, he had a few problems with the last song and told us he couldn't tell if it was in Korean or in Chinese. The restaurant was actually more subdued than you think a North Korean place would be. There were no pictures of Kim Jong-Un, Kim Jong-Il, or Kim Il-Sung anywhere and the waitresses avoided singing any political songs. From what I read, public events in the DPRK begin with a singing of the National Anthem, Aegukka, and the red anthem of the current Supreme Leader, now We Will Follow You Only but formally No Motherland Without You or the Song of Kim Il-Sung. The South Korean guy said all the songs with words were about welcome and friendship, which I guess makes sense in context. Comrades, I can report to that the East is Red, and there is Peace at the End of our Bayonets. While some of the bourgeoisie would like to tell you that respecting our Party Fathers and eating with our Korean Comrades isn't fun, they are wrong as they are with most things. So tonight, we all exist to Serve the People and to Defend the Headquarters of the Revolution! Good night and Long Live Chairman Mao!
2 Comments
Sharon
5/2/2017 08:31:14 am
LOL
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Dad
5/2/2017 10:10:57 am
Promise that before u renounce ur American citizenship and burn ur passport, please get through customs at Newark Liberty on ur way home
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AuthorI am a junior at Juniata College spending a year studying abroad at East China Normal University. Please feel free to join my on my journey to China and beyond. Archives
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