Tiananmen Square
The square, named for its Gate of Heavenly Peace (Tiananmen), contains the monument to the heroes of the revolution, the Great Hall of the People, the museum of history and revolution, and the Mao Zedong Memorial Hall.
Chairman Mao proclaimed the founding of the People's Republic in the square on Oct. 1, 1949, an anniversary still observed there.
A massive demonstration for democratic reform, begun there by Chinese students in April 1989, was brutally repressed on June 3 and 4. It was initiated to demand the posthumous rehabilitation of former Communist Party Chairman Hu Yaobang.
The government was tolerant until after his funeral; then Deng Xiaopeng denounced the protests. The demonstrators were joined by workers, intellectuals, and civil servants, until over a million people filled the square.
General Secretary Zhao Ziyang expressed sympathy, but lost out to Deng, who supported the use of military suppression.
Martial law was declared on May 20. The protesters demanded that the leadership resign, but the government answered on the nights of June 3 and 4 with troops and tanks, killing thousands to quell a "counter revolutionary rebellion."
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When I stood at the square on June 1 (just 3 days from the anniversary of the massacre) I felt my heart crying for the thousands who had died there.
The square is as plain as a square it can be. It is only the history of the place that brings sadness and grief to the heart.
Not far from the square is the Forbidden City where the emperors, empresses, concubines and court officials once lived.
Forbidden City
The Forbidden City (near Tiananmen Square) was the home of 24 Ming and Qing emperors, their families, and their coterie of eunuchs and servants for 600 years from 1406 (when construction began) until 1911, when the Qing dynasty was ousted and the Imperial era ended.
Ordinary people were not allowed inside its gates—which is why it was called the Forbidden City—until 1925 when members of the public entered it for the first time.
There are many palaces, halls and gates within the Forbidden City. There are also numerous gardens within the Forbidden City. It would take a day and more to explore all the palaces, halls and gardens.
Wanfujing
Later in the evening we were taken to a shopping district called Wangfujing.
This shopping area is interesting because you can actually see live scorpions squirming on satay sticks together with starfishes, seahorses, silkworms and all kinds of bugs (which you would not be able to name when you see them sauteed and marinated) on display at side stalls selling all kinds of traditional Chinese delicacies.
How are they cooked? You choose a stick skewered with these unusual insects and the vendors will barbecue them for you!
Giant splayed sotong are also barbequed on request together with the innards of unidentified meats.
Our tour guide advised us not to buy the things on display to eat as the season was summer and the food had been left in the sun the whole day long.
Eating them could cause us stomach disorders....perhaps the Chinese have stronger stomach walls as we saw many munching away at the giant sotong!
Of course we also saw vendors selling steamed sweet potatoes...the staple food of the Chinese eaten during times of famine and war.
Dinner was szechuan cuisine which was not exactly to my liking. The fish, the vegetables, the pork, the milky soup (Chinese soups are either too plain or too milky) and the chilli vegetables left a kind of numbing feeling in my mouth! Too hot, too oily!
It was here at the luxurious restaurant that we saw our first mask changing act and a young man dressed like a chef juggling plates!
The Forbidden City (near Tiananmen Square) was the home of 24 Ming and Qing emperors, their families, and their coterie of eunuchs and servants for 600 years from 1406 (when construction began) until 1911, when the Qing dynasty was ousted and the Imperial era ended.
Ordinary people were not allowed inside its gates—which is why it was called the Forbidden City—until 1925 when members of the public entered it for the first time.
There are many palaces, halls and gates within the Forbidden City. There are also numerous gardens within the Forbidden City. It would take a day and more to explore all the palaces, halls and gardens.
Wanfujing
Later in the evening we were taken to a shopping district called Wangfujing.
This shopping area is interesting because you can actually see live scorpions squirming on satay sticks together with starfishes, seahorses, silkworms and all kinds of bugs (which you would not be able to name when you see them sauteed and marinated) on display at side stalls selling all kinds of traditional Chinese delicacies.
How are they cooked? You choose a stick skewered with these unusual insects and the vendors will barbecue them for you!
Giant splayed sotong are also barbequed on request together with the innards of unidentified meats.
Our tour guide advised us not to buy the things on display to eat as the season was summer and the food had been left in the sun the whole day long.
Eating them could cause us stomach disorders....perhaps the Chinese have stronger stomach walls as we saw many munching away at the giant sotong!
Of course we also saw vendors selling steamed sweet potatoes...the staple food of the Chinese eaten during times of famine and war.
Dinner was szechuan cuisine which was not exactly to my liking. The fish, the vegetables, the pork, the milky soup (Chinese soups are either too plain or too milky) and the chilli vegetables left a kind of numbing feeling in my mouth! Too hot, too oily!
It was here at the luxurious restaurant that we saw our first mask changing act and a young man dressed like a chef juggling plates!
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