Beijing Tiananmen Square

Located at the center of Beijing City is Tiananmen Square, where you can visit Tiananmen Tower, Monument to the People's Heroes, Great Hall of the People, Mao Zedong Memorial Hall and see the national flag raising ceremony. Thousands of people come to the Square every day. It is the must place to visit in Beijing City.

Tiananmen Square lies within the area defined by the next wall.  Formal access to the square is through the Zhengyang Gate, which marks the boundary of what was once an enclosing wall of grey stone and brick.  The tomb of Chairman Mao is centered in the path of the gate.  The square itself is fairly recent.  It used to be filled with shops and alleys, as the streets surrounding it still are today.  Tiananmen is large enough to diminish the impact of two enormous and recent additions to the center of the city.  On one side of the square lies the People's History Museum and on the other, the Great Hall of the People.  The Great Hall is used for major meetings of the government and State occasions.  Elaborate receptions are held there for foreign dignitaries and it contains over 50 rooms, each dedicated to a particular province or minority.

The square serves as a setting for the Imperial City in which lies the Forbidden City.  The red walls, golden roof tiles, and the portrait of Mao Zedong contrast strongly with the surroundings of grey and buff.  Thousands of tourists from all over China visit the Forbidden City daily.  Fred observed at this point that we were of as much interest to the Chinese as was the Forbidden City.  Westerners still are a rare sight.

At one time there were vast gardens and parks adjacent to the Forbidden City where the elite could walk freely.  Although urban encroachment has swallowed many, we visited Zhongshan Gongyuan, named after and anchored by a statue of Sun Ya-tsen.  If that is confusing try this; Sun Zhongshan is the formal name for Sun Yixian which is the new spelling of the informal name of the person we call Sun Ya-tsen or Sun Yatsen. Sun is the family name and Zhongshan is the given name.  In China, to indicate respect, admiration, and fondness the given name is often used. Therefore, Zhongshan Gongyuan is Sun Ya-tsen Park.  By whatever name, the park was beautiful.

It was a Sunday and the place was filled with the laughter of children and the sight of couples strolling among the trees. Children were often dressed in their finest so that their parents could take their pictures.  There was a long winding covered walk that ran through the trees.  A path eventually led us to a building which housed a formal garden.  Kay discovered the magic and shed off the fatigue of 35 hours of traveling to relax and discover China.