Around China's Square - Big Guy, Small World

My knowledge of Chinese history can be written on a piece of paper and slipped into a fortune cookie with room to spare.

What happened in Tiananmen Square in 1989 is something I remember but, as a 19-year-old, never fully understood.

A Chinese man stands alone to block a line of tanks heading east on Beijing's Cangan Blvd. in Tiananmen Square on June 5, 1989. The man, calling for an end to the recent violence and bloodshed against pro-democracy demonstrators, was pulled away by bystanders, and the tanks continued on their way. The Chinese government crushed a student-led demonstration for democratic reform and against government corruption, killing hundreds, or perhaps thousands of demonstrators in the strongest anti-government protest since the 1949 revolution. Ironically, the name Tiananmen means "Gate of Heavenly Peace". (AP Photo/Jeff Widener) — A Chinese man stands alone to block a line of tanks heading east on Beijing’s Cangan Blvd. in Tiananmen Square on June 5, 1989. The man, calling for an end to the recent violence and bloodshed against pro-democracy demonstrators, was pulled away by bystanders, and the tanks continued on their way. The Chinese government crushed a student-led demonstration for democratic reform and against government corruption, killing hundreds, or perhaps thousands of demonstrators in the strongest anti-government protest since the 1949 revolution. Ironically, the name Tiananmen means “Gate of Heavenly Peace”. (AP Photo/Jeff Widener)

The video of a man defiantly standing in front of a line of army tanks can’t be forgotten. It’s the only image in my mind as my head twists around the square trying to find the exact spot where history was made.

Tiananmen Square is massive. It’s a vast, clean, concrete space that’s said to be big enough to hold a million people. It’s their National Mall, for lack of a better comparison. As an American, I consider our Mall a place of inspiration where Tienanmen Square has a definite feel of intimidation. The large painting of Chairman Mao stares down across the expanse.

It doesn’t create that lump in your throat like seeing the Lincoln or Vietnam memorials and the outside square doesn’t really tell much of a story. Mao’s tomb is in a large government building off to one side and there’s another large government building just across the way. The very name of the adjoining Forbidden City suggests how welcome you should feel.

Still, the people come. On both trips to the square it was bustling, but not packed. (It would take a lot of people to make it feel packed). There is a very busy six-lane street that runs right in front of that big Mao painting, something I didn’t expect to be there. Because of the traffic, visitors to the square must use an underground passage to reach the main entrance of the Forbidden City. Just follow the tour group flags!

This entrance is just the beginning of a “Groundhog Day” scenario and the buildings that follow seem to go on, and on, and on…and on.

As you walk through the 600-year-old city, each new building is nearly identical to the last. My untrained eye can’t tell one from another because the architecture, materials, and paint colors repeat themselves throughout the 180-acre zone. Passing through each entryway, you see what you just left behind so there’s no big “reveal moment” after you see the city’s entrance.

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But this IS China. It’s the China you expect to see and it doesn’t disappoint.

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It was a great way to start our China tour and it gave me a new respect for the country’s ancient history (especially the Qin Dynasty) and how much it changed with the Cultural Revolution more than 500-years later.