I started the day hopping in taxi to Chairman Mao mausoleum. Mao Zedong is only on display until noon and the line is as long as they come. So, my friend Pien and I raced to see the Chairman's body before the clock stuck noon. Mao's mausoleum is at the south end of Tiananmen Square and those who come to pay their respects, or just see the spectacle must number in the millions each month! We were the only foreigners I saw in the huge, yet extremely efficient line. The Russian's guarding Lenin's Tomb could learn a thing or two about organization from the Chinese!
Passing by Mao's body was just as solemn as viewing Lenin, with one big difference. When you left Lenin you filed past all the other communist leaders graves and quietly out. We walked past Mao right into a gift shop selling Mao clocks, pens, T-Shirts, you name it. Then as we left the building, we walked through a gauntlet of souvenir vendors in true Chinese fashion. Seemed extremely capitalist if you ask me!
Then I walked around Tiananmen Square, the world's largest square, and just took sights. The National People's "Congress" is to the West, which ironically charges admission, and the huge painting of Mao on the North wall marking the entrance to the Forbidden City. The Eastern side houses two Chinese history museums that I skipped because I didn't know what version I would learn.
Tiananmen Square is the center of Chinese politics and was the focus of the world's attention in 1989 when the Chinese army shot down the pro-democracy demonstrators. Today, it's a photo op with Red Flags and tourists (mostly Chinese) everywhere, and carefree Chinese children flying kites. It also seems that every English teacher in China tells their students to go to Tiananmen Square and practice your English with foreigners. Every two feet you hear, "Hello, I'm learning English. Where are you from..."
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