Tiananmen Square
This is the Eye of China,the focus of the nation.In the 20th
century,it truly became the middle of the Middle Kingdom.In the
21st century many believe it will become the symbolic center of
the Asia Pacific,perhaps even of the world.
Most foreigners recognize Tiananmen instantly as the stage for
the democratic movement that culminated in the events of June
4,1989.Tiananmen Square had been the focal point of earlier
movements as well,and officials are no doubt hopeful that its
image worldwide has been softened by such recent events as
the national celebrations for the return of Hong Kong to Chinese
sovereignty on July 1,1997,and the 50th anniversary of the birth of
the People's Republic, held here on October 1 ,1999.Tiananmen
Square was renovated in 1999,its cement blocks replaced by 1.7
million square feet of pink granite and some sections of green
lawn,along with 4,535 lamps and a legion of blue trash
cans.Chewing gum is now prohibited on the plaza.This is the
largest public square in the world,as befits the most populous
nation in the world. Every paving block of the square is
numbered,partly so that a standing spot can be assigned to each
person who attends one of China's great public forums.
Striking out across this wide expanse gives visitors the chance to
orient themselves to monuments on every horizon,allowing the
immensity of the place to become a microcosm for the immensity
of China.On the north side is the Gate of Heavenly Peace,a
viewing stand where Mao proclaimed in 1949 that China had
stood up on the world stage .His portrait is on the gate,easily
visible from the square..Under it is the entrance to the Forbidden
City,the palaces of the former emperors.
The avenue between Tiananmen Square and the Gate of
Heavenly Peace is Changan,the capital's main thoroughfare.It
was widened as was the square itself,in a massive public works
program initiated by the new ruler,Mao Zedong,beginning in
1950.The city walls also came down .Opposite Changan Avenue
and the Gate ,on the south side of Tianmen Square, is a
monumental remant of the city walls Qianmen Gate ,built in the
15th century as the southern entrance to the imperial city within
Beijing,its two massive stone arches easily visible from inside
the square.Straight south from the gate along the old Imperial
Way is the Temple of Heaven,where the Ming and Qing emperors
ande annual sactifices to Heaven.
On the east side,Tiananmen Square is bordered by the Museum
of Chinese History and the Museum of the Revolution.On the
west side is the Great Hall of the People, China's national hall of
Congress,where the world's envoys meet China's leaders .Both
these architectural giants are open to visitors,but both are a bit
dull.
The Monument ot the People's Heroes is in the center of the
square .This granite obelisk was erected in 1958 to honor
soldiers,farmers,and other patriots who became martyrs to the
Communist Revolution.Ironically, it became the focal point of the
martyrs to the democratic student movement in 1989.Bullet holes
and other blemishes from that night have been
removed,surveillance cameras remain on surrounding poles,and
the marble platform can seem a haunted place even now.
From Tiananmen Square all roads radiate out, north to the
Forbidden City,south to the Temple Of Heaven, northeast to
downtown shopping and the diplomatic missions,and northwest
to the summer palaces.Tiananmen Square is open dawn to dusk
daily.Admission is free.
Chairman Mao's Mausoleum
In the center of Tiananmen Square,aligned with the north-south
axis that runs through the Forbidden City to the Temple of
Heaven,is the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall(Mao Zhuxi Jinian
Bei).It was completed in 1977,the year after Mao's death . You can
join the long line outside,facing south,facing south,for a
60-second look at Mao lying in state in a crystal sarcophagus.He
rests on a black granite slab from Moun Tai.,recalling one of
Mao's favorite quotations from China's Grand Historian: "Although
deat befalls all men alike, in significance it may be weightier than
Mount Tai or lighter than a swan's down."Every evening Mao is
lowered into the floor,to be refrigerated underground.At dawn ,he
rises with the sun in the east.The mausoleum reopened in 1998
after a 6-month cleanup.In its first 20years,it chalked up 110
million visitors.
This is the quietest, cleanest,and most revered room in
China.Cameras and handbags must be checked in booths
outside,at a cost of RMB8($1)per item.The Chairman Mao
Mausoleum is open mornings Monday through Saturday 8:30 to
11:30am and on Monday,Wednesday,and Friday and Friday
afternoons 2 to 4pm.Admission is free. http://www.etours.cn
http://www.tour-beijing.com
About the Author
The writer works in China.
This is the Eye of China,the focus of the nation.In the 20th
century,it truly became the middle of the Middle Kingdom.In the
21st century many believe it will become the symbolic center of
the Asia Pacific,perhaps even of the world.
Most foreigners recognize Tiananmen instantly as the stage for
the democratic movement that culminated in the events of June
4,1989.Tiananmen Square had been the focal point of earlier
movements as well,and officials are no doubt hopeful that its
image worldwide has been softened by such recent events as
the national celebrations for the return of Hong Kong to Chinese
sovereignty on July 1,1997,and the 50th anniversary of the birth of
the People's Republic, held here on October 1 ,1999.Tiananmen
Square was renovated in 1999,its cement blocks replaced by 1.7
million square feet of pink granite and some sections of green
lawn,along with 4,535 lamps and a legion of blue trash
cans.Chewing gum is now prohibited on the plaza.This is the
largest public square in the world,as befits the most populous
nation in the world. Every paving block of the square is
numbered,partly so that a standing spot can be assigned to each
person who attends one of China's great public forums.
Striking out across this wide expanse gives visitors the chance to
orient themselves to monuments on every horizon,allowing the
immensity of the place to become a microcosm for the immensity
of China.On the north side is the Gate of Heavenly Peace,a
viewing stand where Mao proclaimed in 1949 that China had
stood up on the world stage .His portrait is on the gate,easily
visible from the square..Under it is the entrance to the Forbidden
City,the palaces of the former emperors.
The avenue between Tiananmen Square and the Gate of
Heavenly Peace is Changan,the capital's main thoroughfare.It
was widened as was the square itself,in a massive public works
program initiated by the new ruler,Mao Zedong,beginning in
1950.The city walls also came down .Opposite Changan Avenue
and the Gate ,on the south side of Tianmen Square, is a
monumental remant of the city walls Qianmen Gate ,built in the
15th century as the southern entrance to the imperial city within
Beijing,its two massive stone arches easily visible from inside
the square.Straight south from the gate along the old Imperial
Way is the Temple of Heaven,where the Ming and Qing emperors
ande annual sactifices to Heaven.
On the east side,Tiananmen Square is bordered by the Museum
of Chinese History and the Museum of the Revolution.On the
west side is the Great Hall of the People, China's national hall of
Congress,where the world's envoys meet China's leaders .Both
these architectural giants are open to visitors,but both are a bit
dull.
The Monument ot the People's Heroes is in the center of the
square .This granite obelisk was erected in 1958 to honor
soldiers,farmers,and other patriots who became martyrs to the
Communist Revolution.Ironically, it became the focal point of the
martyrs to the democratic student movement in 1989.Bullet holes
and other blemishes from that night have been
removed,surveillance cameras remain on surrounding poles,and
the marble platform can seem a haunted place even now.
From Tiananmen Square all roads radiate out, north to the
Forbidden City,south to the Temple Of Heaven, northeast to
downtown shopping and the diplomatic missions,and northwest
to the summer palaces.Tiananmen Square is open dawn to dusk
daily.Admission is free.
Chairman Mao's Mausoleum
In the center of Tiananmen Square,aligned with the north-south
axis that runs through the Forbidden City to the Temple of
Heaven,is the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall(Mao Zhuxi Jinian
Bei).It was completed in 1977,the year after Mao's death . You can
join the long line outside,facing south,facing south,for a
60-second look at Mao lying in state in a crystal sarcophagus.He
rests on a black granite slab from Moun Tai.,recalling one of
Mao's favorite quotations from China's Grand Historian: "Although
deat befalls all men alike, in significance it may be weightier than
Mount Tai or lighter than a swan's down."Every evening Mao is
lowered into the floor,to be refrigerated underground.At dawn ,he
rises with the sun in the east.The mausoleum reopened in 1998
after a 6-month cleanup.In its first 20years,it chalked up 110
million visitors.
This is the quietest, cleanest,and most revered room in
China.Cameras and handbags must be checked in booths
outside,at a cost of RMB8($1)per item.The Chairman Mao
Mausoleum is open mornings Monday through Saturday 8:30 to
11:30am and on Monday,Wednesday,and Friday and Friday
afternoons 2 to 4pm.Admission is free. http://www.etours.cn
http://www.tour-beijing.com
About the Author
The writer works in China.
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