OK. This discussion has been awesome!!! I have really gained allot and pretty much for sure will not be spending 5 hours sitting at the airport now. Tiananmen Square seems doable and is indeed iconic and historical. Both the ancient history plus in my own life I vividly remember being glued to the news coverage of the protests and crack-down in '89 and the different mindset I and everyone else on all sides had back then. I'd want to see the place in person, so that is probably in the plan. So what's it like in the evening? Everything is closed but I can still wander about the plaza which will be lively and bustling???? Still debating if a second destination is in the cards. A number of good ideas have been put forward. I'm looking seriously at all of them.

I do wish I had a week or more. Alas, I have 5 hours.