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One of the advantages of visiting Beijing, China in December for taking pictures is the lack of pollution in the air. Another advantage of visiting at this time of year is the lack of crowds.
We bundled up to go for a tour of Tiananmen Square located across the street from the Forbidden City on a very cold winter’s day.
We had to pass through a security station to have our bags checked. We then emerged from beneath the underpass to enter the great square. After receiving our instructions to NOT mention “The Event” that happened in 1989 as it is rumoured that there is 1 spy to every 4 people sightseeing in Tiananmen Square, we were set free to explore the sqare on our own.
It was interesting that as we were being told not to mention the massacre, a man came up to listen in on our groups conversation. Our guide became a little uncomfortable and went silent and we all laughed uneasily before parting ways for an hour to check out the site.
Tiananmen Square is the World’s largest public square. It can hold 1 million people. But it is exactly that, just a square. It was large enough that we could spend an hour looking around, but there weren’t a ton of interesting things to see. That is unless you got there early with passport in hand to sign up to see the Mausoleum of Chairman Mao.
We gave that a skip and instead went to see the impressive Monument to the People’s Heroes. At 38 meters high, it stands out against the massive flat square surrounding it. The monument is dedicated to the people who lost their lives during the Chinese Revolution.
Great shot! Never seen one so empty of people
I visited Beijing in January one year, and had the same experience. An almost empty square..Great stuff…
Beautiful picture, almost metaphorical – The hazy past behind the glittering present.
Wow, that is a beautiful way of putting it Priyank. I wish I would have thought of that phrase, it captures the moment perfectly.
Great photo! Can’t believe there was suppose to be 1 spy for every four people thats crazy.
Awesome picture. But the paranoid communist ideology will eventually fail – it has to eventually!
I agree, I think that as more people visit and the media opens up, they can’t keep people from having more freedoms. I hope that things loosen up in China soon.