More than in the subway it is a Tiananmen Square that we are confronted with the multitude of Chinese, who crowd in front of the inevitable security checks that anticipate the entry into what seems to be the largest public square in the world. In fact, Tiananmen Square is a monument for all the inhabitants of China and beyond Beijing, so get ready to make a long line, not very orderly, before being able to cross the metal detector and to flow into the immense square, where the multitude disperses, leaving room for modern history and the majesty of its testimonies.
The buildings that rise on the sides are massive and imposing and give an austere aspect to the square. The Chinese parliament meets in Great Palace of the People, not always accessible to the public, faced by the National Museum of China. There is no need to enter the museum to feel inside the history at Tiananmen Square. Just step on the ground that over the years has heard noises of war, cries of revolt and supported tanks and students, elderly dissidents and intellectuals. Tiananmen Square is alive and takes you back in time, just enough to seem to be on an old news program in which a distant correspondent updates us on international news.
What perhaps most attracts Chinese and non-Chinese tourists is the Mao's Mausoleum, where the tomb of Mao Zedong (or Tse-Tung) is contained. If you want to plan a visit to the square that also includes the mausoleum, know that it is closed on Mondays. On the sides of the mausoleum, the two huge stones in which the essence of Chinese history is literally carved are very fascinating: between the faces of Mao and workers and laborers sculpted in their pride.
Impossible not to look at the huge monument to Heroes of the People, built by Mao right in the middle of Tiananmen Square, and if you find yourself in the square in the early morning or late afternoon, you can attend the national flag ceremony in which stiff Chinese soldiers will hoist or lower the flag on a very high pole. north of the square.
At the extreme north of Tiananmen Square, reachable by a short underpass, the Gate of Heavenly Peace. The huge portrait of Mao stands out among large Chinese characters that praise the freedom of the people, suspended on a large wall, at the base of a rich pagoda, which anticipates the entrance to the Forbidden City: impassable kingdom of the ancient Chinese emperors.
The square is also very beautiful in the evening, when the huge screens in the center continue to project films that stand out even more in the twilight at the end of the day.
It is very easy to reach Tiananmen Square, depending on your location you can reach it by taxi, or simply by subway. The metro stops to get to Tiananmen Square are those of Tian'anmen East or Tian'anmen West, both on line 1, the red line.
