Walking tour of Tiananmen Square

After getting a good rest on Friday, I decided to take a walk and explore some of the neighborhood. As I was summoning up my courage to go out alone, Rui Liang, a colleague of Bob's who works for Emulex, called me and invited me to go out with his wife and him. They picked me up at my apartment and brought a lovely box of moon cakes as a gift. Then we were off to lunch for some authentic "Beijing Duck". Rui ordered a feast -- soup, two kinds of shrimp, vegetables and the duck. He said this was one of the best restaurants in Beijing for duck and I had to agree. The presentation was beautiful and we certainly ate our fill.

We then set off for a walk towards Tiananmen Square. On the way, we strolled down a pedestrian street with lots of shops and lots of people. We finally reached the "Old Palace" as Rui called it but which we know as the Forbidden City. Our goal, however, was Tiananmen Square which we approached through the Gate of Heavenly Peace. With the occurences of June 1989 still quite vivid in my memory, I didn't know what to expect and what I would feel being there. The reality is that, although it is quite impressive, now it is a place for people to gather, to stroll around, to fly kites, to take pictures, etc. and it seems just like any major tourist attraction in the world. There are, however, a lot of security guards, police, and soldiers patrolling the place. Tiananmen Square is the size of 90 American football fields and can hold 300,000 people. It is the world's largest public square.