Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Heroes of the People”. The platform on which the obelisk stands is guarded, and a promin-
ent sign declares that commemorative gestures, such as the laying of wreaths, are banned. In
1976, riots broke out when wreaths honouring the death of the popular politician Zhou Enlai
were removed; and the demonstrations of 1989 began here with the laying of wreaths to a
recently deceased liberal politician.
The Chairman Mao Memorial Hall
毛主席纪念堂
, máozhǔxí jìniàntáng • Tues-Sun 8.30am-noon • Free (bring ID); bags & cameras forbidden
Mao's
mausoleum
, constructed in 1977 by an estimated million volunteers, is an ugly build-
ing that looks like a drab municipal facility. It contravenes the principles of
feng shui
- pre-
sumably deliberately - by interrupting the line from the palace to Qianmen and by facing
north. Mao himself wanted to be cremated, and the erection of the mausoleum was appar-
ently no more than a power assertion by his would-be successor, Hua Guofeng. In 1980 Deng
Xiaoping, then leader, said it should never have been built, although he wouldn't go so far as
to pull it down.
Much of the interest of a visit here lies in witnessing the sense of awe of the Chinese con-
fronted with their former leader, the architect of modern China who was accorded an almost
god-like status for much of his life. The atmosphere is one of reverence, though once through
the marble halls, you're herded past a splendidly wide-ranging array of tacky Mao souven-
irs; the flashing Mao lighter that plays the national anthem is a perennial favourite, as is the
waving-Mao wristwatch (shoddy batteries mean that Mao usually stops waving within the
week).
