What better way to show off a nation’s might during its National Day than a military exposition? Hence the “The 1st Suzhou in 2025” National Defense, Military & Aerospace Science Popularisation Exhibition now on at Suzhou Shishan International Conference Centre.
Visiting on 4 October, this correspondent’s attention was first grabbed by the 5-year old girl posing for photos clutching the means to kill another human being.
Indeed, children make up a surprisingly large proportion of the packed-out expo’s attendees, a fact ironically underscored by this correspondent’s lone attendance resulting in asking a member of staff to take his photo standing on a tank while a line of youngsters awaited.
Their presence was also explained partially on account of it being a holiday but also as a real life case study in the kind of science popularisation much touted by the authorities over the past 5 years or more.
While many of the smaller items on display were undoubtedly the real thing, questions remained over the authenticity of others. The big-ticket items, for example such as the J-10 performance aircraft, darling of China’s air shows since 2009, had the crowds queuing for an hour for a chance to sit (and wave the flag) in something that may as well have been bought on Taobao.
The fakes also stood out for their merely being representative of China’s aging military hardware; the absence of the new kit underscoring the high-level security nature thereof.
Yet there was also much tugging at the heartstrings; conveniently placed displays in one instance charting the daring mission undertaken by 15 airborne solderirs on 14 May, 2008, to jump blind from an altitude of 5,000 metres into the disaster zone that followed the wenchuan earthquake for relief efforts that guided many more to bring in that which was most desperately needed.
But most fascinating of all was the exhibition as a means for enforcing the capacity of the regime and a faith therein among the masses.
The exhibition continues and concludes on 7 October. Tickets cost ¥68 with various promotional prices and concessions available.
