We began our tour in Beijing October 1st - national day. The day Chinese people celebrate Mao's triumph over Chiang Kai-shek. In fact they get the WHOLE week off - October 1 thru October 7. (And you thought our three day weekends were great?!)
We were told that Tian'an men Square holds about 1 million people.
I think it was pretty close to capacity that day!
We were there earlier in the afternoon, so the crowds were just beginning,
but I have never seen SO many people - not even at Disneyland!
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| Main government building (like our Capital Hill) (on the back side of the square) |
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| On the left is the entrance to the Forbidden City - Mao's picture is in the center Tian'an men Square was once part of the Forbidden City. The gardens, gates and buildings of half of the Forbidden City were removed starting in 1951 to create what is now this street and Tian'an men square. |
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| The center of the square facing the museum (behind) I'm not sure what the basket represented - it is a temporary display |
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| The whole square was full of beautiful flowers. |
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| The People's Heroes monument in front of Mao's Mausoleum. Here is a pretty good indication of the crowd. Notice the policeman - police do not carry guns in China |
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| Rafa with the People's Heroes Monument - closer up (Notice the barriers - we couldn't get very close to any of the buildings or monuments. Not sure if that is normal or only because of the holiday.) |
The flowers in front of the National Museum
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| Mao's Mausoleum |
The Monument to the People (on both sides of the Mausoleum)
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Don't know who is in the picture (comment if you know please) (Notice the cameras - they are literally EVERYWHERE!) |
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