Home » Beijing 2008, Snapshots

Tiananmen Square (天安门广场)

1 September 2008By Zhu 11 Comments
Tiananmen

Tiananmen

For some, Tiananmen Square will remain the place where the tragic and absurd happened: in 1989, the Chinese government brutally repressed pro-democratie protests and demonstrations. Tiananmen square is also the place where Mao Zedong proclaimed the People’s Republic of China on October 1st 1949, and where many movements started, such as the May 4th Movement.

Today, Tiananmen Square remains one of the symbol of Mao’s disillusion of grandeur, a huge square — the biggest in the world — dedicated to him, China, the “people’s heroes”, and jealously guarded night and day by the Party. The lampposts sport video cameras and the square itself is heavily monitored by uniformed and plain clothes policemen… Yet, a lot of Chinese still gather on Tiananmen to watch the flag ceremony either at dusk or at down, take picture, fly kites or just visit the site of so many key event in Chinese modern and contemporary history.

Arriving On Tiananmen

Arriving On Tiananmen

Hanging Out On Tiananmen

Hanging Out On Tiananmen

Little Girl Among The Crowd

Little Girl Among The Crowd

Souvenirs

Souvenirs

Guarding The Square

Guarding The Square

Mao\'s Mausoleum

Mao's Mausoleum

China\'s National Museum

China's National Museum

Chang An Jie

Chang An Jie

Changing The Guards

Changing The Guards

Lowering The Flag

Lowering The Flag

People\'s Heroes Monument

People's Heroes Monument

In Front Of Qianmen

In Front Of Qianmen

Related Posts

  1. The Forbidden City (故宫)
  2. Qianmen (前门)
  3. National Aboriginal Day
  4. Nathan Phillips Square
  5. Old Beijing (老北京)
Filed under: Beijing 2008, Snapshots
Tagged: ,

11 Comments »

  • Zhu (author) said:

    @durano lawayan – I think most Chinese just think of Mao as an historical figure but definitely in good and in bad now. People are quite critical and since China is moving forward, its print is slowly being erased. A silly thing for example: in 1999, the “Mao lighter” was sold everywhere… I couldn’t find it anymore.

    As for selling pictures… I’d love too! I’m looking into it actually. Thanks for your encouragements!

    @Annie – This is one thing I’m always confused with in India. AS you said, there are several regions and each has its history, culture, language maybe. China, probably because of the politics, is very much centered on Beijing and is much more East – West. I guess in India I have to look at each region individually. Not sure if I’m clear, I’m sleepy, sorry! ;-)

    @Eric “Speedcat Hollydale” – Thank you!

  • Eric "Speedcat Hollydale" said:

    Totally remarkable … super photos Zhu

    Eric “Speedcat Hollydale”s last great read…Speedcat Hollydale Grass Roots Campain Trail

Trackbacks

  1. China Carnival #10: Tian’An Men, Income, Food… | ChinaBlog.cc - The China Blog

Just say it!

Add your comment below, or trackback from your own site. You can also subscribe to these comments via RSS.

I love hearing from you - your comments matter!

You can use these tags:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>

This is a Gravatar-enabled weblog. To get your own globally-recognized-avatar, please register at Gravatar.

CommentLuv Enabled