In a busy roundabout in the center of the city, large steel red stars stand beside a magnificent banner bordered with flowers.

In other parts of the city there were dancers and more banners. According to www.ODTN.com, “A thousand soldiers from the First Branch of the Armed Police Corps of Jiangsu Province swore to the National Flag for memorizing the history.”

All of this to stir Nanjingers into remembering that 60 years ago, Chiang Kai-Shek, and the rest of the Nationalists were defeated in the Invasion of the People’s Liberation Army.

On April 21, 1949, the Communists crossed the Yangtze River by boat. By the 23rd, the Nationalists had officially dissolved and by the 24th, the Communists had risen to power with plans to move the capital from the newly freed Nanjing to Beijing.

As a foreigner, I was fascinated by this story and decided I also wanted to commemorate this great week by asking older Nanjingers what they remember about this day.

Photo: Gray Monk

However, I was a little surprised at first to discover that most weren’t interested in talking about the Liberation. (They seem to be much more talkative with topics like the Japanese Invasion. It may be because compared to the Invasion and the defeat of the Japanese, the story of the Liberation is a little dull.)

In fact, most nai nai’s who happened to live in Nanjing at the time said they knew the day was important. But what happened to them that day, they couldn’t even remember. Those who did remember always ended their thoughts with “we were freed that day.” A few of them were able to recall details. One older woman remembers seeing the boats filled with Communist soldiers cross the river.

“I was a girl and we lived by the river. I remember seeing the boats cross into the city. I was a little afraid, but I knew it would be good. We were going to be free,” she said as she strolled down the street.

Another woman we met didn’t actually live in Nanjing at the time, but in Shandong. She was always watching the newspapers to see if her husband, a soldier in the PLA, would be safe. On the day it was announced that Nanjing was liberated, she remembers feeling relieved. And when her husband returned home, she was proud of him.

“He won an honor from the army because he was a good soldier,” she said. “And I was so proud of him and glad he had come home to us. Because of his honor, he took me back to Nanjing and we both saw this city together shortly after the liberation.”

Photo: Snow kisses sky

Another woman remembers being a child and being frightened because she was only 8 years old as she fell asleep to the sound of gunfire. She didn’t know what would happen, until the morning. That’s when her parents told her that they were safe and that Nanjing was freed!

One very old man who was in his 20’s when the PLA invaded said he remembers the army came, although he never actually saw a soldier. At the time, he worked for the railway and he does remember that a bomb went off next to a station. No one was hurt but he believes to this day it was the work of an “underground group.”

When asked if at the time he was afraid of more attacks, he laughed.

"I was not afraid, I was very happy. The army came, and on those days I remember a lot of people packing up their luggage and getting out of town to get to Taiwan."

With that joke, he smiled and left us.

***

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