The Cold War ambience is enhanced by the silly buildings surrounding the square. There is the massive, and massively ugly, hall where the National People's Congress meets, a very large memorial where Chairman Mao's body is displayed in a mausoleum, and a museum about the Communist Revolution. In the center of the square, and the only object interrupting the sea of stone, is the nondescript Monument to the People's Heroes. We had planned on visiting Mao, but as you can see in the photo, the line was about a mile long, not atypical in a country of 1.3 billion people. Maybe next time.

The square used to be filled with various government ministries but they were damaged during various rebellions in the nineteenth century. Rather than repair them, the government leveled them, creating the groundwork for the current Tiananmen Square. However, at that time, China's most important gate stood at the center of the square, and was used for special imperial ceremonies. After the Communists took over, they destroyed the gate in the mistaken belief that the square needed to be opened up. It's now a vast expanse of concrete, with no trees, benches or other signs of life. While for most Chinese it's just a vast expanse they have to trudge through to get somewhere else, it of course shot to worldwide fame during the student riots and subsequent clampdown in 1989. There's no sign of any of that here, but it is the only place in China that still feels like a Communist country. The rest of the country has embraced capitalism with a frenzy and the government has long ago given up trying to micromanage this unmanageable country. But this huge empty square, with Mao and military parades, is still very cold war.

To the south of the Forbidden City lies Tiananmen Square, the world's largest, and least hospitable, open space. It is separated from the Forbidden City by a series of bridges and an imposing gate, the highest in the Forbidden City complex. This is the perch from which Mao now looks down at the monotony of Tiananmen. It's also lined with reviewing stands where party officials can view the various military parades commemorating some revolutionary accomplishment.