Darren
Mar 22, 05, 9:25 pm
Quick pre-note: I have learned in life that you can never please everyone. It was suggested that instead of posting each separately that I post them one after another. I did that at first but consciously changed it to separate postings. As a compromise, I will post longer ones or two short ones under each other which will cut the number a bit without making a 30 page long post since this is going to be very long in the end. I don't think that there is a "best" solution (or any solution at all) but hopefully this will be a happy medium.
On to the square....
The next day, I headed into Tiananmen Square down town via several modes of public transport. It really was my first glimpse of just how many people 1.3 billion are. It felt like half were on the train as this fat westerner was squished in between. Along the way, the train went through several communities ranging from very nice to very simple to very poor. All were very interesting, however, as the train went underground and the view went away with the light. The next light I saw was one of the biggest, grandest squares I have ever seen with Mao watching down upon it from above. I headed towards the Forbidden City through the Tian’an Men (I have learned that “men” means “gate”). For a few yuan, you can go up to the top of Tian’an Men and get a beautiful view of the square and the surrounding buildings. The gate itself doesn’t hold a lot of interest other than a few tables and chairs and two large televisions showing Chinese propaganda films. I have to admit I was impressed with the footage of the various parades in the square.
Past the Tianan Men is the Duan Men which is less impressive and I found no compulsion to go into. Between the various gates are sellers of various souvenirs (both legal and illegal) and other kitchy stuff like photos with kids dressed up like a Qing princess or warrior. Unfortunately, being a Sunday, I wasn’t the only one with a vision of going to the Forbidden City and by the time I arrived there were a horrific number of people in line so I decided to skip it and go a different day. Off to one side of the complex is the Zhongshan park which is interesting just to relax for a few minutes but does also have a hall dedicated to Dr. Sun Yat-Sen with some information about his contribution to the Chinese Revolution. On the other side of the complex is the Tai Mao which is an ancient religious place that now holds many ancestral relics. Unfortuatenly much of it was closed, but I was able to see a group of Chinese dancers practicing and the state’s collection of bells including one large one representing China, its history, and its people.
I read that over a half a million people can fit into Tiananmen Square. To put it into perspective, that’s about the population of Wyoming. Needless to say, the square has a bit of history but you would never know it by visiting. It was filled with tens of thousands of people milling about, flying kites, debating, etc. I have read that the state keeps many undercover police on the square at this point to maintain a handle over demonstrations and whatnot. Even if there were undercover police, there were more than enough visible police to probably deter a lot of people from protesting too much. In the center of the square is the large Monument to the People’s Heroes which stands in front of Mao’s Mausoleum. It is closed on Sundays so I will go back to see him some other day. In fact, it’s only open for three hours a day so come early, come often. To the left of the square (facing the mausoleum) is the Museum of the Revolution and the Chinese History Museum. I have had enough people tell me to skip it but one interesting recent addition is a countdown clock for the Olympics in a few years. To the right of the square is the Great Hall of the People. I read that the hall can old up to about 10,000 people. The two buildings were created by Mao after leveling all that was in the square many years ago. I was told that some of the buildings leveled were of great historical importance but that history takes a back seat to progress at times.
Take whatever time you expect to see the area in and double it. Things are very, very large and just walking across the square from Tianan Men to the Mausoleum is a good 20 minute stroll even without stopping. I decided to head back because I had work to get done. Unfortunately, I need to keep reminding myself that this is a business trip first and foremost.
Past Episodes:
#1: Intro, PHL-LAX-LHR-DXB, Dubai (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=409654)
#2 : London : The Flumps (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=412328)
#3 : London : The Great Navigator (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=412333)
#4: PHL-LAX-SIN : Surviving USScareways (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=412336)
#5 : LAX-NRT-SIN : A Singaporean Experience (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=412424)
#6 : SIN-PEK : On to China (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=413060)
#7 : Beijing : What in the world is this? (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=413061)
On to the square....
The next day, I headed into Tiananmen Square down town via several modes of public transport. It really was my first glimpse of just how many people 1.3 billion are. It felt like half were on the train as this fat westerner was squished in between. Along the way, the train went through several communities ranging from very nice to very simple to very poor. All were very interesting, however, as the train went underground and the view went away with the light. The next light I saw was one of the biggest, grandest squares I have ever seen with Mao watching down upon it from above. I headed towards the Forbidden City through the Tian’an Men (I have learned that “men” means “gate”). For a few yuan, you can go up to the top of Tian’an Men and get a beautiful view of the square and the surrounding buildings. The gate itself doesn’t hold a lot of interest other than a few tables and chairs and two large televisions showing Chinese propaganda films. I have to admit I was impressed with the footage of the various parades in the square.
Past the Tianan Men is the Duan Men which is less impressive and I found no compulsion to go into. Between the various gates are sellers of various souvenirs (both legal and illegal) and other kitchy stuff like photos with kids dressed up like a Qing princess or warrior. Unfortunately, being a Sunday, I wasn’t the only one with a vision of going to the Forbidden City and by the time I arrived there were a horrific number of people in line so I decided to skip it and go a different day. Off to one side of the complex is the Zhongshan park which is interesting just to relax for a few minutes but does also have a hall dedicated to Dr. Sun Yat-Sen with some information about his contribution to the Chinese Revolution. On the other side of the complex is the Tai Mao which is an ancient religious place that now holds many ancestral relics. Unfortuatenly much of it was closed, but I was able to see a group of Chinese dancers practicing and the state’s collection of bells including one large one representing China, its history, and its people.
I read that over a half a million people can fit into Tiananmen Square. To put it into perspective, that’s about the population of Wyoming. Needless to say, the square has a bit of history but you would never know it by visiting. It was filled with tens of thousands of people milling about, flying kites, debating, etc. I have read that the state keeps many undercover police on the square at this point to maintain a handle over demonstrations and whatnot. Even if there were undercover police, there were more than enough visible police to probably deter a lot of people from protesting too much. In the center of the square is the large Monument to the People’s Heroes which stands in front of Mao’s Mausoleum. It is closed on Sundays so I will go back to see him some other day. In fact, it’s only open for three hours a day so come early, come often. To the left of the square (facing the mausoleum) is the Museum of the Revolution and the Chinese History Museum. I have had enough people tell me to skip it but one interesting recent addition is a countdown clock for the Olympics in a few years. To the right of the square is the Great Hall of the People. I read that the hall can old up to about 10,000 people. The two buildings were created by Mao after leveling all that was in the square many years ago. I was told that some of the buildings leveled were of great historical importance but that history takes a back seat to progress at times.
Take whatever time you expect to see the area in and double it. Things are very, very large and just walking across the square from Tianan Men to the Mausoleum is a good 20 minute stroll even without stopping. I decided to head back because I had work to get done. Unfortunately, I need to keep reminding myself that this is a business trip first and foremost.
Past Episodes:
#1: Intro, PHL-LAX-LHR-DXB, Dubai (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=409654)
#2 : London : The Flumps (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=412328)
#3 : London : The Great Navigator (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=412333)
#4: PHL-LAX-SIN : Surviving USScareways (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=412336)
#5 : LAX-NRT-SIN : A Singaporean Experience (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=412424)
#6 : SIN-PEK : On to China (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=413060)
#7 : Beijing : What in the world is this? (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=413061)