As soon as he got off the plane, Nixon excitedly shook Zhou Enlai's hand and said sincerely, "Sir, your hand has reached out the world's most vast ocean!" “
Premier Zhou welcomed Nixon's visit to China
Nixon himself is so eager to say that this handshake is a "handshake across the Pacific", which shows how much President Nixon is looking forward to this visit to China, and is also eager to establish good diplomatic relations with China, the lion of the East that is gradually awakening.
On the morning of February 21, 1972, a group of soldiers stood in the tarmac of the airport in the capital of Beijing, and in the cold wind, their expressions were serious, like a tall poplar, and their upright bodies stood in the airport without moving.
Originally, this was to welcome President Nixon's visit to China by the honor guard, and in order to smoothly carry out this ice-breaking journey of Sino-US relations, the state has attached great importance to the reception process this time, and has also raised the number of honor guards.
Generally speaking, the head of state or the head of state will visit China, the size of the honor guard is more than 120 to 150 people, and the appearance of the super standard honor guard composed of 371 people this time is enough to see the importance that the state attaches to this reception.
At 11:30 a.m. on the 21st, a "Spirit of 76" landed at the Beijing capital airport, and it was Nixon, the powerful imperialist president at that time, who came down from the plane, with his wife Pat Nixon, Kissinger and other people.
Nixon and his entourage were greeted by Vice Premier Li Xiannian and Ye Jianying, who was presiding over the work of the Central Military Commission at that time, and other Chinese leaders, and the crowd warmly welcomed Nixon's visit to China.
After a short conversation at the airport, Nixon noticed the honor guard at the airport that made his eyes shine, these movements were uniform, the soldiers who were not angry and arrogant were brushing their eyes on him, wherever he went, the eyes of these soldiers also shifted with his actions, which made him feel an invisible pressure, greatly shocked, the original team can be so neat, every move is like a person, so that Nixon can not help but sigh: "This honor guard in China is the most outstanding honor guard I have ever seen!" ”
Premier Zhou accompanied Nixon in his parade of honor guards
And his wife, Pat Nixon, had been following Nixon's side, and during the day's welcoming ceremony, although there was no red carpet, there was still a conspicuous touch of Chinese red. Among the many leaders in dark black coats, The curly-haired Mrs. Pat wore a bright orange-red tweed coat, which was as dazzling as a burning flame. For this red coat, Mrs. Pat happily explained: "Red is the color of China, which represents the lucky color of auspiciousness and happiness, a blessing for the success of her husband's visit to China, and a lucky color for our visit to China." ”
Nixon with Mrs. Pat Nixon
In fact, when Nixon got off the plane, he thought that he would be greeted by warm applause and the people of his country who were welcomed by the middle lane, but he did not expect that not only did he not have the people who welcomed him in the middle of the road, but there was not even a red carpet.
This may have disappointed Nixon a little, and even looked forward to whether the welcoming crowd was waiting at their destination, and what still disappointed Nixon was that the streets were cold and cold, and there was no Chinese crowd he imagined.
Only then did he realize that China was different from other countries. In kissinger's memoirs, which later accompanied Nixon on a visit to China, there is this passage:
"Chinese did not tell us in advance whether we would prepare any kind of mass welcome. When our motorcade drove into the city center, the hope that the real welcome ceremony might be waiting for us in Tiananmen Square, where there would be a crowd of people who would be very suitable for the camera, was dashed. ”
In fact, for a country that has not yet completed the establishment of diplomatic relations, Premier Zhou's reason is very simple, that is, to maintain our humble demeanor, establish an image of a big country that is calm and generous and not afraid of power, and let the outside world see our attitude.
But it is by no means disrespectful to those who come, and the state attaches great importance to the reception of Nixon's visit to China, on the other hand, this arrangement is also to ensure their safety.
On the evening of the 21st, in the brightly lit banquet hall of the Great Hall of the People, a grand banquet kicked off, for anything during Nixon's visit to China, it must not be neglected, not only in the honor guard is a super standard treatment, in the dinner selection of dishes, each dish is carefully selected before the table.
In order to welcome the arrival of the Nixons, Chairman Mao also specially ordered a famous dish from Shanghai for the team visiting China, "boiling and paddling."
The name of the dish may not sound so atmospheric, but its meaning is extraordinary. This paddle is the fish tail, the name is simple and clear, the braised fish tail. The significance of this dish is far-reaching, this fish tail is the propeller of the fish's advance, it is its source of power, Chairman Mao also wants to use this dish to express China's future, and the beautiful expectation of nixon's joint progress towards a beautiful goal after this visit to China.
It is said that this dish has a history of more than 500 years, at the end of the Qing Dynasty, Empress Dowager Cixi specially invited someone to go to Beijing to make this dish, Empress Dowager Cixi tasted it, was amazed, and immediately rewarded the chef who cooked the dish, and this dish has also been inherited for generations, until now, it has been moved to the stage of the state banquet.
Boil the paddle
Chef Cheng Ruming, who was in charge of the state banquet, learned that Chairman Mao had ordered this dish by name, but he said to Chairman Mao worriedly: "Chairman Mao, I think this dish is not suitable, can foreign guests eat fish and meat, this dish has more thorns, in case something happens?" “。
Chairman Mao laughed and said, "You are right." That being said, Chairman Mao still insisted on serving this prickly dish to the state banquet, and Chairman Mao's mind was delicate, and he must have a reason for doing so.
Although I don't understand, everyone still thinks mainly of Chairman Mao's meaning, in addition, Chairman Mao also specially made people make steaks, afraid that Nixon and others will not be accustomed to Chinese food.
At the state banquet on the evening of the 21st, this "boiling water" carrying Chairman Mao's profound meaning was placed in front of the Nixons, and what was unexpected was that the Nixons did not dislike this prickly dish at all, but ate the dish, perhaps he had understood Chairman Mao's deep expectations for this dish.
What is even more surprising is that in the case of other foreigners using knives and forks, the Nixons used chopsticks, which made him very proud.
Nixon used chopsticks
It turned out that in order to visit China, Nixon began to prepare half a year in advance, and he practiced using chopsticks in the office on weekdays, and also tried to use chopsticks to clip small balls, which led to the scene of using chopsticks to calmly taste Chinese food at the state banquet today.
At the banquet, Premier Zhou also brought out the Moutai wine that he had treasured for thirty years.
Nixon had a cup with Premier Zhou
Husband loves Chinese food, which makes Mrs. Pat also curious about Chinese food, she wants to know how these amazing delicacies are made, so Mrs. Pat offers to go to the kitchen to see, of course, this is an opportunity to show Chinese food, for any questions raised by mrs., the chefs know everything, endless words, and strive to let the lady who has been eating bread and steaks see the historical connotation and charm of traditional Chinese cuisine.
I have to say that in order to hold this national banquet perfectly and show the style of a big country, this simple four dishes and one soup, just to choose dishes, but also have to spend a lot of thought. There are many kinds of Chinese cuisine, there are eight kinds of cuisines alone, and everyone has their own opinions on which cuisine to go on, but the tastes of foreigners are always different from ours, and the discussion has not been high or low for a long time.
Premier Zhou said in his speech: "We can't just choose the food we like, the main purpose of this time is to entertain foreigners, but also to think about what flavors they can accept."
What dishes can foreigners eat? Foreigners eat lightly, even sweet, then this time the cuisine, the leaders first discharged the Spicy Sichuan cuisine, etc., as well as the soup-based Cantonese cuisine, they set their sights on Lu cuisine and Huaiyang cuisine.
These two cuisines have more similarities, they are mainly light, pay more attention to the original taste of the dish, and there are many exquisite dishes in the form, exquisite and delicate, requiring atmosphere and grade.
It is worth mentioning that at the state banquet, nixon was praised and ate a brilliant "white robe shrimp" is Huaiyang cuisine, and since then, this dish has also been on the list of must-have dishes for state banquets.
White-robed shrimp
Although accompanied by Premier Zhou, before visiting China, Nixon wanted to meet Chairman Mao, and he wanted to know what kind of strange person was the person who led China to victory.
But Chairman Mao was not in good health and would not be entertained, and Nixon was somewhat disappointed. But when he got there, Chairman Mao sent word that he was going to meet with Nixon. During this conversation, the medical staff pulled the first level of vigilance, always ready, not with the worst thoughts, but to prepare for the worst.
When Chairman Mao saw Nixon, he frankly said, "I will not talk to you about politics, we will only talk about philosophy and politics. ”
Nixon readily agreed and had an hour-long philosophical conversation with Chairman Mao, leaving It to Premier Zhou as to The political issues that Nixon was most concerned about.
Chairman Mao and Nixon
On this visit to China, President Nixon has been accompanied by Premier Zhou.
On February 23, 1972, when President Nixon and Premier Zhou met in Diaoyutai, they found that Premier Zhou had difficulty undressing, nixon immediately went forward to help Premier Zhou take off his coat, even the secretary did not have time, this scene was filmed by reporters, immediately sensationalized the vast number of people, perhaps some people are puzzled, but Nixon said very calmly: "When I saw Premier Zhou Enlai for the first time, I was impressed by his all-over temperament, and taking off his coat for him was only to express my admiration for him." “
Nixon took off his coat for Premier Zhou
After Nixon, Japanese Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka visited China for the first time. Coincidentally, at the place where Zhou Enlai and Tanaka Kakuei met, also at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, a scene similar to nixon's visit to China occurred, Tanaka Kakuei found the inconvenience of taking off Premier Zhou's coat, and went forward to want to retire the coat for Premier Zhou, but premier Zhou stopped him in time and said to Tanaka Kakuei: "You are our most honored guest, and it should be that we serve you."
This remark gave Tanaka Kakuei a great deal of favor, and in a later interview, Tanaka Kakuei also expressed his extreme praise for Premier Zhou, saying: "If premier Zhou had not come to talk with me, I might have gone back." ”
Kakuei Tanaka
As the head of the world's nine major diplomats, Zhou Enlai's wisdom and boldness have impressed many people, and it should be known that not everyone can calmly and unhurriedly in various situations, or even solve a thing perfectly, but Premier Zhou has done it.
Once, Premier Zhou received foreign guests, and there was a soup with a Chinese character "swastika" carved from winter shoots, but it happened that this word was turned over in the soup and became a fascist symbol. This scene made the foreign guests who lived through the Period of World War II feel very angry, and the memories of World War II were so painful.
The foreign guests asked what this meant, but Premier Zhou said humorously: "Don't misunderstand, this is not a symbol of fascism, this is our Chinese swastika, which represents the beautiful meaning of the extension of happiness and longevity, although this word accidentally turned over in the soup, but it does not matter, even if it is a fascist symbol, we will eat it together and eliminate fascism."
Everyone at this table smiled again, and worked together to eliminate fascism, drinking the soup without even a drop.
The number of times such things have happened to Premier Zhou is innumerable, and our wise Premier Zhou can always easily resolve contradictions and embarrassments, and has won the admiration and admiration of many people with his wisdom and courage.
Former Soviet Prime Minister Kosygin praised him as the greatest statesman in the world.
Neddy's wife, Jacqueline, said he was the only one she admired.
After meeting Zhou Enlai, former Secretary-General of the United Nations Hammarhard gave the most classic evaluation: "Compared with Zhou Enlai, we are simply barbarians." ”
Just as Su Shi wrote in the poem "Nian Nu Jiao Chibi Huaigu" described: "Between talking and laughing, the tree ashes and ashes are extinguished", Premier Zhou can always break the unequal demands of a strong country and political power between talk and laughter, and how can people who protect our country and people be said to be inferior to thousands of troops and horses?
Nixon was later convicted of "Watergate," but when he was invited to China again, nixon, who was already dressed in white, was greatly moved, this time arriving in Shenzhen.
At that time, Shenzhen was the most developed area in China, and the International Trade Building, which was the most prosperous and lively place in Shenzhen, marked the miracle of China's speed and China's development, and was the place of yearning for tourists and foreign tourists from all over the country.
Coming to the International Trade Building in Shenzhen, let Nixon very excited, with his appearance, the surrounding masses recognized the former president, stemming from the previous visit to China, so that the former president in China is loved by the vast number of people, the masses cheered and waved to him, Nixon also responded enthusiastically to the masses, and even stepped on the car, standing on it and raising his hand high to wave to the masses.
Nixon was already eighty years old at the time, and this move scared the security guards enough to rush forward to protect him, until a long time later, Nixon stopped his naughty behavior.
Nixon
During Nixon's visit to China within a week, Nixon and Premier Zhou signed the "Sino-US Shanghai Joint Communique," which also firmly demonstrated China's intransigence on the issue of territorial sovereignty.
After this visit to China, the United States gradually withdrew its armed forces and armaments facilities in Taiwan, and China stressed and opposed a number of important issues such as the two Chinas and Taiwan independence.
This visit to China can be described as a timely rain for China, a milestone in Sino-US good relations, and a factor in breaking the hostile situation between China and the United States over the past twenty-two years, which has further deepened China's ties with the world's major developed countries and eased tense relations, which not only ended the scene of China's two fists being isolated, but also greatly enhanced China's international status and created a better diplomatic environment for future reform and opening up.