I was already late for my last Chinese lesson when I got on the bus today. We were sitting at an intersection a block away from home when traffic stopped, a police officer strode to the center and everyone started deliberately laying on their horns. Everyone on the bus stood up and I then realized it was 2:28 p.m. The nation was observing three minutes silence to mourn those killed in last week's earthquake, whose magnitude has now been revised to 8.0.
Eight is an auspicious number here - cellphone numbers with multiple 8's are more expensive - but events this year have caused some people to question the superstition. China's worst snowstorm in 50 years hit on 1.25 (1 + 2 + 5 = 8), the earthquake shook Sichuan on 5.12 (5 + 1 + 2 = 8), and protests in Tibet turned violent on 3.14 (you get the idea). The Olympics start on August 8, 2008 at 8 p.m. local time.
China started a three-day mourning period today, which newspapers marked this morning by removing color from their front pages. Flags will fly at half-mast and the Olympic torch relay has been suspended. Also in observance, the government has ordered entertainment and gaming websites to suspend operations and post mourning messages instead. Beijing's Houhai bar district will turn off its music this week, while some movie theaters and KTV (karaoke) chains will shut down completely.
People were still being rescued Sunday, seven days after being buried. On Sunday night my Chinese teacher watched a TV special that included many stories from survivors. She told me about one girl who turned 20 the same day the earthquake struck. Before it happened, she was wondering what she would get for her birthday - flowers, clothing, etc. After a building collapsed on her, she waited several days for rescue teams to find her. In the end, she said, her birthday gift was her life.
China Fun Fact: Officially, the current toll is 34,073 dead and 245,108 injured.
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