Saturday was a day of seeing some of the sites that Beijing is so famous for: Tian’anmen Square, the Forbidden City and The Great Wall. It was a picture perfect day weather wise. It can, at times, be hazy due to smog and pollution, but this day was cool temperatures and blue skies. There is very high security at Tian’anmen Square and thousands of people everywhere. Tian’anmen Square is the largest public square in the world. I suspect there is not a close second! We were told not to take photos of protestors if there were any, but we did not see any. Chairman Mao Memorial Hall (see photo) is there along with several other important public buildings. One thing I was not prepared for was the line of thousands of Chinese people in line to view the remains of Chairman Mao. Our guide said that there is this line every day and they are not allowed to stop the line at any time. The line is to move forward continuously at a steady pace. Even with that rule, the line is continuous all day every day. (See photo although it is hard to capture the long snaking line.) He died in 1976 and it is amazing to me to see this level of devotion among people of younger generations. See little boy in photo. His young parents were about to get in line. His parents may not even have been alive in 1976, but the respect is there. We learned at the school the other day that many children wear red scarves denoting the Young Pioneer, then become Young Cadets if they are nominated as good students. Then eventually Communist Party Members are selected from this group of Young Cadets. It seems there are many advantages and privileges to becoming a Communist Party Member in this society.
Saturday was a day of seeing some of the sites that Beijing is so famous for: Tian’anmen Square, the Forbidden City and The Great Wall. It was a picture perfect day weather wise. It can, at times, be hazy due to smog and pollution, but this day was cool temperatures and blue skies. There is very high security at Tian’anmen Square and thousands of people everywhere. Tian’anmen Square is the largest public square in the world. I suspect there is not a close second! We were told not to take photos of protestors if there were any, but we did not see any. Chairman Mao Memorial Hall (see photo) is there along with several other important public buildings. One thing I was not prepared for was the line of thousands of Chinese people in line to view the remains of Chairman Mao. Our guide said that there is this line every day and they are not allowed to stop the line at any time. The line is to move forward continuously at a steady pace. Even with that rule, the line is continuous all day every day. (See photo although it is hard to capture the long snaking line.) He died in 1976 and it is amazing to me to see this level of devotion among people of younger generations. See little boy in photo. His young parents were about to get in line. His parents may not even have been alive in 1976, but the respect is there. We learned at the school the other day that many children wear red scarves denoting the Young Pioneer, then become Young Cadets if they are nominated as good students. Then eventually Communist Party Members are selected from this group of Young Cadets. It seems there are many advantages and privileges to becoming a Communist Party Member in this society.
