Tiān'ānmén Square, the square almost the entire world was speaking about more than two and a half decades ago. I say almost, because there were no reports of the incident in the Chinese media at first. There were some later and still are because the government couldn't keep it as a secret any longer. However, most Chinese still don't know what and if something happened back in 1989 and the few of them who know, are likely to know what the Chinese government told them: not the truth. I asked two Chinese to see if they know. The first one said: "A group of people who were against the communist party carried out violent actions by burning down public buildings and killing people. It ended in failure". When I asked who those people were, the answer was: "No idea, our press never printed this". This person is an educated person who knows that something happened but not exactly what. The second person I asked knows the truth, because some of their lecturers at the university either were there or nearby or took actively part in the riots.
Propaganda and censorship work a great deal. What surprised me at first is that the first person doesn't know the truth, but then I realised that how could one find out about it? You must speak a foreign language and have access to foreign websites. Most websites are either fully blocked, or the content is different, government-friendly, like Wikipedia content in Chinese language.
Even Lonely Planet doesn't write anything about the square, but only mentions the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall and the National Museum. However, 27 years later, the square is full of mostly Chinese tourists who come to see the Forbidden City directly opposite and the sights around and nearby.
Tiān'ānmén Square is a massive square and the surrounding buildings are enormous like most things in communist and former communist countries. Besides the happy tourists taking selfies, there is police everywhere and there are fences along the road. If you want to cross the road you can either use one of the underpasses or traffic lights. And if you want to visit any of the sights you need to have your passport with you and be prepared for a luggage and bag scan and long queues before the scanning points.
If you would like to read more by me, here are my novel and my diary from Ar'ar, in the northern Saudi desert. Both available on Amazon as soft and hard copy.
Propaganda and censorship work a great deal. What surprised me at first is that the first person doesn't know the truth, but then I realised that how could one find out about it? You must speak a foreign language and have access to foreign websites. Most websites are either fully blocked, or the content is different, government-friendly, like Wikipedia content in Chinese language.
Even Lonely Planet doesn't write anything about the square, but only mentions the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall and the National Museum. However, 27 years later, the square is full of mostly Chinese tourists who come to see the Forbidden City directly opposite and the sights around and nearby.
Tiān'ānmén Square is a massive square and the surrounding buildings are enormous like most things in communist and former communist countries. Besides the happy tourists taking selfies, there is police everywhere and there are fences along the road. If you want to cross the road you can either use one of the underpasses or traffic lights. And if you want to visit any of the sights you need to have your passport with you and be prepared for a luggage and bag scan and long queues before the scanning points.
A happy little tourist.
The massive square.
The national museum
Entrance to the Forbidden City.
No idea what this is. There's no reference in my Lonely Planet guide book.
Chairman Mao Memorial Hall.
They look rather grim. What's wrong boys? Are you having a bad hairdo day?
Speaking of hairdos...
If you would like to read more by me, here are my novel and my diary from Ar'ar, in the northern Saudi desert. Both available on Amazon as soft and hard copy.
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