Tiananmen Square

We spent the first part of the day at Tiananmen Square. Our hotel, the Jianguo Garden Hotel, was only a few blocks from the square. Tiananmen Square is a large plaza in the center of Beijing. Various events in Chinese history happened in the square, including the May 4th Movement in 1919 and the Proclamation of the People's Republic of China by Mao Zedong on October 1, 1949. Mass rallies and protests were held at the square during the Cultural Revolution. Most recently, the protests of 1989 took place in the square, where many pro-democracy Chinese citizens were massacred. We visited the square a week after the 20-year Annversary of the 1989 protest, and it was very crowded. CNN was at the square a week earlier, trying to report on the history of the 1989 protests. Unfortunately, the reporters at CNN said that undercover security guards held umbrellas over their cameras last week, to block coverage of the history of the events in 1989.

We also visited the Forbidden City. It was the Chinese Imperial Palace for almost 500 years of dynastic rule. The Emperor lived here with his household. It was the political center of Chinese government. It has almost 9,000 rooms, and covers 720,000 square meters. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site and is listed as being the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world.

We also visited the Temple of Heaven. It was built by the same architect who designed the Forbidden City. It was constructed between 1406 and 1420. It is a place where people pray for things such as a good harvest. It is a beautiful site to see, and when we were there a lovely couple had their wedding photos taken at the Temple. A huge park surrounds the temple, where people gather in the afternoons to dance, play hackysack, and relax.

We were treated by a Peking Roast Duck Banquet Dinner. They also offered plenty of vegetables. It was a great way to end our full day of sightseeing.