Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
of the Forbidden City. As such, the square employs a conventional plan that pays obeis-
ance to traditional Chinese culture, but its ornaments and buildings are largely Soviet-in-
spired.
Activities
Early risers can watch the
flag-raising ceremony
at sunrise, performed by a troop of PLA
soldiers drilled to march at precisely 108 paces per minute, 75cm per pace. The soldiers
emerge through the Gate of Heavenly Peace to goosestep faultlessly across Dongchang'an
Jie as traffic is halted. The same ceremony in reverse is performed at sunset. Ask at your
hotel for flag-raising/-lowering times so you can get there early, as crowds can be intense.
Bicycles can no longer be ridden, or even walked, across Tiān'ānmén Sq, although you
can ride along the north-south avenues on either side of the square.
Kite flying has also been banned.
Dangers & Annoyances
Unless you actually want a map you'll have to sidestep determined map sellers and their
confederates - the incessant learners of English - and just say no to the 'poor' art students
press-ganging tourists to view their exhibitions; fending them off can be draining. Avoid
invitations to tea houses, unless you want to pay in excess of US$400 dollars for the ex-
perience.
1989 PROTESTS
Tiān'ānmén Sq is best known in the West for the events of 1989, when live television pictures showed the army forcing
pro-democracy demonstrators out of the square. Although it seems likely that no one was actually killed within the
square itself, hundreds, possibly thousands, were killed in the surrounding streets. During the 10th anniversary of the
1989 protests, the square was shut for renovations.
Despite being a public place, the square remains more in the hands of the government than the people; it is mon-
itored by closed-circuit TV cameras, Segway-riding policemen and plain-clothes officers who move faster than
the Shànghǎi maglev at the sign of any disruption.
