May 23, 2004

Tiananmen Square

Beijing, China

I visited Tiananmen Square today. Built in typical communist style: huge and graceless. It's just a large concrete-paved space. No benches. No trees. Surrounded by Soviet-style buildings and with Mao looking kindly down from on high. It's really only suitable for two purposes: flying kites and holding mass demonstrations.

The Chinese however are very proud of Tiananmen Square. Many times in the south of China, after mentioning that I would visit Beijing, I would be asked if I had heard of it. "Oh yes", I would say, "it's very famous in the west". The irony of this was, however, lost.

Posted by David at May 23, 2004 09:33 PM