May 1st, 2005
After checking in to the hotel and a morning walk, the group headed out to lunch followed by a visit to Tiananmen square and the Forbidden City. Tiananmen Square is at the center of Beijing. It is named for the Tiananmen (Heavenly Peace) gate that separates the square from the forbidden city. It is the size of 6 football fields and is the largest square in the world.
It was here where Mao Zedong proclaimed the People’s Republic of China in 1949. In 1976, people came to the square to pay respects to Mao as he lay in state. Chairman Mao can still be viewed in his mausoleum where he rests, well-preserved in a crystal coffin.
It is also here that on June 4, 1989, after weeks of pro-democracy demonstrations, troops were deployed to crush the protests. The news reported tanks, automated weapons, fully armed soldiers against protesting students resulting in blood and death. Death tolls vary from hundreds to thousands. Today many of these facts are disputed attributing propaganda and media hype with distorting historical fact. Although we may never know what really happened, the event was an extremely significant one that will be remembered for years.
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