Walked through the centre of Beijing, around the forbidden palace. Haven’t done this since 1997 when I was first in China. It has, on the face of it, changed less here, at least in terms of architecture. What has changed is the people; there seem to be more than I remember and they are dressed quite differently. There also seems to be more people selling stuff: hats, electronic spinning tops that fire patterns onto the floor, sweets, ‘crawling forces’ and flags.
At first I thought the flags were being given away as I, imagining it was the UK, couldn’t imagine anyone actually paying for a flag when crowding into a central London tourist spot. But no, visitors to the forbidden city buy small flags from the quite persistent flag vendors as a part of the experience. I’m curious to know what these flags signify, what meaning beyond that of the country’s symbol these flags convey. I expect that this is a very complex and varied set of meanings, in the same way as what the St George’s Cross signifies is contested and unstable. I have a better understanding of the latter having grown up with it and watched its evolution from solely adorning seriously dodgy pubs to becoming a more varied and acceptable symbol within the commercial world. What the Chinese flag symbolises is however a mystery.
