Chapter 37 Backtracking on the National Day Tour

Seventeen days before the National Day in 1971, the thrilling "Lin Biao incident" suddenly occurred in our country.After the incident, our country changed the celebration method of party and state leaders on May 1st and 11th when they went to Tiananmen Gate to inspect the parade, and changed it into a way of celebrating International Labor Day and National Day in several major parks in Beijing. 's arrival The National Day in 1971 was the first year when the garden party was implemented for the first time.Before the National Day, the "Lin Biao incident" had not been made public. Until September 24, the large float in front of the Chinese Revolutionary History Museum, where I even guarded, was still undergoing final decoration and adjustments. Tiananmen Square was still rehearsing for students, and the radio was still broadcasting Lin Biao. The chairman taught us that...all signs still give people the feeling that our country will hold a parade in front of Tiananmen Square to celebrate the National Day as in previous years.But we know that this is in accordance with Premier Zhou's instructions, try to buy time and deal with the negative impact of the Lin Biao incident.At the same time, the relevant state departments, the security forces of the Beijing Municipality and the Beijing Garrison, and other security forces have followed Premier Zhou's instructions and are preparing for the National Day tour activities in major parks such as Zhongshan Park, the Working People's Cultural Palace, and the Summer Palace.

Because our ministry is on duty in front of Tiananmen Square, some officers and soldiers were ordered by superiors to participate in the annual "May 1" and "October" garden security work in Zhongshan Park and the Working People's Cultural Palace.From the National Day of 1971 to the National Day of 1974, I participated in the work of guarding the garden almost twice a year.In order to do a good job of guarding the relatively unfamiliar gardens and ensure safety, the troops urgently formulated a garden guarding plan, and organized officers and soldiers participating in the war to conduct rehearsals to deal with various emergencies.

On the day of National Day, the autumn sun was shining brightly, and the sky was blue.The brand-new big red palace lanterns hung high on the Tiananmen Gate Tower, and the red flags fluttered in the wind.Several groups of large flower beds placed in Tiananmen Square and the portrait of Sun Yat-sen in front of the monument all added a strong festive atmosphere.At 8:00 a.m., cadres and masses in the capital with happy smiles flocked to the gates of the parks according to the park tickets (due to the strong concept of class struggle at the time, the park tickets were issued to various units and issued to individuals after review).Some of us helped to check tickets, some evacuated tourists, and some patrolled the route that the chief passed by.The park has been newly decorated, red lanterns are hung in every corner of the park, bright red slogans celebrating the 22nd anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China are hung in many eye-catching places, and red, yellow and blue triangular flags are hung between trees. , All kinds of flowers with different patterns are in full bloom, and even the large and small aisles are filled with potted flowers.Everyone scrambled to take a photo with the flowers.The beautiful men and women in new clothes and clean clothes seem to have found a paradise to release their emotions. They laugh at each other, hug each other, and become a beautiful landscape in the park.

Parks such as Zhongshan Park and the Cultural Palace have set up multiple stages in relatively spacious locations for artists to perform.The contents of the performance include "Eight Model Operas", revolutionary songs, acrobatics, magic, dance, lion dance, cross talk, children's programs, etc.At that time, although these programs were somewhat left-leaning, they were all healthy and uplifting, giving people a sense of passion.Famous singers, famous film actors, and protagonists in "model plays" who are known today as "Big Bowl" all participated in the performances without any remuneration.The audience has to sit on the mats placed in advance to watch the show and listen to the songs. If there is no seat, they can stand behind and watch.Enough watching here, you can watch it on another stage.On a stage in front of the flower house in Zhongshan Park, Ma Yutao, a famous singer of the Comrades Song and Dance Troupe, is singing "Water in a small river..." I saw Wu De, who was the secretary of the Beijing Municipal Party Committee at the time, and others came here. It's so high and so good."The wonderful programs feasted the eyes of the audience and brought infinite joy to the park full of tourists, allowing people to spend the first National Day in a garden-like way in peace, entertainment and relaxation.

There is another group of special tourists in the garden, which are the foreign guests invited to the garden.Most of these people are embassy staff, visiting delegations or economic and trade personnel.Most of them are embassy staff.Most of the embassy staff brought their children with them. Some pushed the children in small carts, and some let the children ride on their heads. They swam around, adding color and highlights to the garden, and conveying some extraterritorial atmosphere.The "foreigners" with different skin colors, different costumes, and different languages ​​were full of interest. They didn't know if they could understand the program.

Protecting the safety of the head of the central government is our top priority in the security work of the park.In addition to the National Day in 1971 when Premier Zhou accompanied Ye Jianying and Li Xiannian to visit the Summer Palace with his wife Sihanouk and Binnu, from 1972 to 1974, Premier Zhou made three "May Day" festivals and two "National Day" festivals. , all accompanied Sihanouk and other Cambodian VIPs to visit the park in Zhongshan Park or watch programs in the concert hall.It is easy to control the guard work when the chief goes to the concert hall to watch the program, because the audience must hold the concert hall tickets, and the number of people is small.But visiting the garden is different. The leaders of the central government, especially Premier Zhou, who is deeply loved by the people, will cause a sensation when they go there, and they all rush to see Premier Zhou's style.Because there are no isolation measures, it puts a lot of pressure on the security work. Sometimes we take emergency measures to pull the wall while walking, but it is difficult to block the crowd. On the afternoon of October 1, 1973, Premier Zhou accompanied Prince Sihanouk, Prime Minister Bin Nu, Special Envoy Ing Sali and other Cambodian dignitaries to participate in the National Day Garden Gala in Zhongshan Park, and went to the Zhongshan Park Concert Hall to watch military performances with them.When visiting the park, he was surrounded by crowds, and everyone was scrambling to shake hands with the Prime Minister. The army quickly dispatched personnel on duty near the park to come to the rescue.But because of the crowds, the pine walls in the park were trampled down, which frightened us guards.But Premier Zhou talked and laughed happily, congratulating everyone on a happy holiday.With our vigorous guidance and the cooperation of the park visitors, Premier Zhou and others finally passed through the crowd of enthusiastic cheerers.Only then did our tense nerves relax, and bright smiles appeared on the faces of our sweaty comrades-in-arms.