Tiananmen Morning

After visiting the Temple of Heaven, we went to Tiananmen Square. Our tour guide said gave us a few statistics, namely the largest public square in the world, and noted a few notable things that had happened there.

He mentioned Mao Zedong's proclamation of the People's Republic of China in 1949. He mentioned mourning for Mao at his death, and for other leaders. And then, to my surprise, he mentioned "the student demonstrations in the spring of 1989, which you might have seen on CNN." I was surprised that he mentioned it at all. I wasn't planning on bringing it up.

As it turns out, many of the students on our trip were born in 1989, so didn't have a clear idea of what happened. From April 15 to June 4 there were large demonstrations, and eventually a hunger strike in Tiananmen Square. The demands of the protesters were varied. The protests began with public mourning for Hu Yaobang, who had been Secretary General, and a reformist leader, but had been denounced by the party. But the protests widened to economic protests, fueled by crippling inflation.


In the end, the tanks were sent in. Estimates of the number of people killed range from 400 to 2600. This was the same year, by the way, that the Berlin Wall was torn down.

From the vantage point of the tour bus driving in, it was easier to see how it was situated. Mao's mausoleum was at the opposite end of it from the Forbidden City entrance, where a very large portrait of Mao still hangs. On one side is the Chinese National Museum of Art and History, and on the other the Great Hall of the People where some sort of representative government body meets. For one month out of the year.

I feel a pang of jealousy at that statement.

More in the middle is the Monument to the People's Heros. It is meant to commemorate war dead. There were very long lines at both Mao's mausoleum and the Great Hall of the People. The steps of the Great Hall of the People looked like a good place to take a photo, but unfortunately they were all closed off except for a narrow corridor to allow a large queue of visitors.

As we parked and disembarked, we were met by beggars in addition to the usual street vendors. There was a boy on a sort of roller board that appeared to have something wrong with his legs. Another man walked into our group as we were standing and bared his shoulder and chest, showing what looked to me like burns and scarring.

In order to get to the Square from our dropoff point we had to cross the broad streets that make up three of four sides of the square. This was done via a very large pedestrian underpass. The underpass allowed you to cross either to TS or to the Forbidden City side, and unfortunately some of our group took the wrong turning.

Our tour leader had a little blue flag on an extending pointer to help us keep together. However, once we got to the square, it was awash with people and tour groups, many of them sporting blue flags which were not quite identical to ours.

It was a Saturday, which I'm sure didn't help. And the location is a must-see for internal Chinese tourists as well as foriegners.

Also on the square is a roped off section which contains a flagpole flying the flag of the PRC. It is considered the national flag of China. It is guarded by two soldiers. I expected them to carry rifles, but they didn't. In fact, I couldn't see any weapons on them at all.

The soldiers seemed terribly young to me. They also seemed a bit undisciplined. We saw another company of them off the square as we got off the tour bus and they were marching in formation, but gawking at the same time.

The flag is close to the north end, across from the Forbidden City and the large portrait of Mao. While we were there a company of perhaps 20 soldiers marched up and saluted the portrait of Mao. And then changed the guards on the flag. None of them had weapons either. Could this be some oblique reference to 1989? Is it now considered inappropriate to carry weapons here?

Whoever finds beauty in weapons
Delights in the slaughter of men;
And who delights in slaughter
Cannot content himself with peace.
-Tao de Ching

After about 30 minutes of free time, we went back under the street and visited the Forbidden City.