Exploring Tienanmen Square, Beijing, China.
After lunch our first glimpse of the square was driving past the old Qianmen Gate, from the Ming Dynasty, on the south end of the square.
Qianmen is the modern name for the gate south of the Forbidden City and Tienanmen Square. Originally named Zhengyangmen (The Gate of Straight Positivity), the gate lies on the same north-south axis as the imperial path through the Forbidden City, and it was the route the emperor took when he went to Tiantan (The Altar of Heaven), in the outer city, to make offerings. It is a double gate and the smaller south gate is closed to the public, but the north gate has a very interesting museum on the history of Old Beijing. One of the more interesting displays is a model of the city during Qing times.
(Above: A panoramic view looking south to the Archery Tower.
Below: Looking north toward Mao's Mausoleum with the Great Hall of the People to the left and the National Museum to the right.)
The old city gates had a standardized design: two towers with a walled courtyard in between. Except for Zhengyangmen, the outer tower had no gate. Rather, there were gates through the left and right hand walls of the courtyard that allowed passage to and from the outside. An arched tunnel leading into the city was carved through the gates. This arrangement made the gates easy to defend: An enemy trying to breach the gate would be surrounded by high walls and be under a constant barrage of arrow fire.
(Below are various views of the Archery Tower just south of Qianmen Gate.)
Our bus dropped us off in front of the Chinese National Theater, 'The Egg', just west of the gate and Tienanmen Square.
It is a pretty impressive piece of architecture. Here are a few more photos from different perspectives. It is reported to have cost $400 million to build.
We walked eastward past the the impressive concert hall and The Great Hall of the People and crossed a very busy street, Nanchang Jie, and entered the fabled square. Below is our guide, Joan, leading us like a mother hen with her Utah Jazz flag.
Below is a map of the Tienanmen Square, the Forbidden City and the surrounding area. (For a panorama click here.)
We gathered together and got some instruction from our guides before being turned loose on the locals and the other tourists. They told us it is the largest public square in the world. We were not given much time, certainly not enough time to visit any of the buildings on the square. We had about 20 minutes, just enough time to take a stroll and take photos of the sites and meet up at the flagpole on the north end in front of the main gate to the Forbidden City. We would be returning to tour the Forbidden City at a later date.
All of these massive red and gold columns lining the east and west extremities of the square, were holdovers from the 60th anniversary celebrations of the founding of The Peoples Republic of China.(Read more here)
The first stop for us was Mao's Mausoleum.
In front of the building were the ubiquitous, soviet style, socialist workers statuary.
Next we focused on the Monument to the People's Heroes located dead center in the massive square. The Monument of the People's Heroes is the central feature of the Square. Built in the late 1950s to commemorate those who had died for change and revolution in China from 1840, its northern face has a calligraphic inscription by Mao Zedong which reads: "The People's Heroes Live On Forever". Around it, in bas relief, is an iconographic representation of highlights of the Chinese Revolution.
Directly to the east was the Chinese National Museum.
North of the monument were some huge video monitors which flashed continuously changing images.
We chatted with locals and took photos. Many of them asked if they could take photos of us (they don't see that many blue eyed blondes or people with white hair like mom's) and we in turn took photos of them. Below is a cute little boy in the popular crotchless pants.
Here are a couple more examples.
There were also the military guards standing and/or marching about at various points...
and the tourists that just wanted to look like them, like Professor Bell here. I bought one of these hats as well. Mine was a gift for my boss back in the states, I told him it was because he was our 'supreme leader' and befitting of his iron-fist management style.
At the two northern corners of the square, east and west, there were two more huge video monitors (note the size of the cars in front of the screens).
Forming the northern boundary of the TianAnMen Square is the most popular tourist attraction in China, The Forbidden City, the historic royal palace complex of the ruling dynastic families. Commoners were not allowed inside the compound.
We would not be visiting the Forbidden City this evening but would return another day when would have more time. Below is a vintage photo of TianAnMen Square and the main gate to the palace, before its modernization.
The air was very polluted throughout our stay in Beijing (all of China for that matter). I took many of my photos and on the computer, later on, adjusted the exposure in order to brighten them up. Here below is an example of how much of a difference it made. The before and after photos of Chairman Mao above the entrance to the Forbidden City give you a good idea of how hazy it was due to the pollution.
The square bustled with local tourists and foreigners. We made our way to the TianAnMen Gate (the one with the Mao portrait) and entered into the outer plaza in front of the entrance to the Imperial Palace.
Just to the west of the main gate of the Forbidden City is a small park, this was our next destination. Zhongshan (ZhongShan is SunYatSen's alternate name) Park was chosen as part of our tour because most of those in our tour group were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, a.k.a. Mormons. It was in Zhongshan Park in 1921, that David O. McKay, who would later become the Prophet and President of the Church along with his associate, Hugh G. Cannon, dedicated the land of China for the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. They did so at the foot of a particular Cyprus tree which bears a plaque commemorating the event.
The following is an excerpt from Mr. Cannon's memories of the date:
Sunday, January 9, dawned sunny but cool; as the companions left their hotel they walked “with no definite goal in mind,” and entering that portion of the Imperial Palace grounds known as the “Forbidden City,” they felt guided to a spot in a cypress grove where they could be alone. “A reposeful peace hovered over the place which seemed already hallowed,” Brother Cannon recorded. “One felt it was almost a profanation to tread thereon with covered head and feet. Two men were in sight, but they seemed oblivious to our presence, and they soon left the grove. There, in the heart of a city with a million inhabitants, we were entirely alone, except for the presence of a divinely sweet and comforting Spirit.” Elder Cannon continued:
Elder David O. McKay, in the authority of the Holy Apostleship, dedicated and set apart the Chinese Realm, for the preaching of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, whenever the Church authorities shall deem it advisable to send out missionaries for that purpose. Never was the power of his calling more apparent in his utterances. He blessed the land and its benighted people, and supplicated the Almighty to acknowledge this blessing. He prayed that famine and pestilence might be stayed, that the government might become stable, either through its own initiative, or by the intervention of other powers, and that superstition and error, which for ages have enveloped the people, might be discarded, and Truth take their place. He supplicated the Lord to send to this land broad-minded and intelligent men and women, that upon them might rest the spirit of discernment and the power to comprehend the Chinese nature, so that in the souls of this people an appreciation of the glorious gospel might be awakened. It was such a prayer and blessing as must be recognized in heaven, and though the effects may not be suddenly apparent, they will be nonetheless real.
Mom/Granny and Raylene (wearing my soviet style hat) took the occasion to pose for photos with the tree.
Running the length of the park on its north side was a part of the moat which surrounds the Forbidden City. It was lined by large, stately trees and the grounds were filled with colorful flowerbeds. There were plenty of benches where one could rest or just sit and enjoy the peaceful solitude and serenity, amazingly available in such a huge, bustling city with its teeming millions.
Toward the western end of the park we came across artists painting the beauty that surrounded us.
Just before exiting the park there were more flowerbeds, rock gardens and a couple of sleepy pussycats.
Next up:
A Jade factory and The Great Wall
