I was there: October 1, 1949

Five old Shanghai residents in Zhongshan Park talk about what happened in Shanghai when the People’s Republic of China was founded on October 1, 1949.

Mr Liu, 84

‘I’ve been an independent worker throughout my life, finding my own work – my main occupation at the time was driving a sanlunche (three-wheeled cart), mainly around Zhabei district. There wasn’t much of a noticeable difference straight away – we were all very poor at the time, and it was very hard to find work – but slowly things became better. I do remember that the Kuomintang forces who’d been posted along Suzhou Creek all left suddenly.’

Mr Guo, 93

‘I was working at a glass-making factory in this area [around Zhongshan Park]. The office managers called a meeting in the assembly hall – there were about 200 workers there – and announced that China had been liberated. It wasn’t a surprise, as the People’s Liberation Army was already in charge, but things did change – China had been very messy, but it became better organised and a better place to live. ‘Before the Communists came to power, for example, Zhongshan Park was closed off to the public. You had to pay to enter and it was mainly for foreigners. But it was one of the many places that was liberated so that everyone could come and enjoy it.’

Ms Zhang, 80

‘I was about 20 years old in 1949, teaching six- to eight-year-olds at a school on Huaihai Lu. I don’t remember much from the day itself, but the school did begin to change a lot after liberation – we received new books and conditions improved a lot.’

Mr Mao, 69

'On the day of liberation, I was nine and I remember that we didn’t have to go to school. I lived by Changde Lu, and that day I went marching around Lu Xun Park with the other kids. We went to watch the People’s Army also marching around the city and celebrating.’

Mr Wang, 89

‘I was born in Jiangsu province, but I moved to Shanghai to find work. I was able to find a job in a bottling factory close to here [Zhongshan Park] when I was 26, and was 29 in October 1949. I remember the presence of the Kuomintang here in Shanghai before that – they left, of course, but other than that it was just work as usual.’

This article originally appeared on timeoutshanghai.com on October 1, 2011.

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