Tian’anmen Square and the Forbidden City 天安门广场和紫禁城

All discerning travelers and citizens of the world know that here in the heart of the glorious workers paradise exist two of the greatest monuments to human achievement ever erected: Tian’anmen Square and the Forbidden City. Tian’anmen is of course famous in the minds of Westerners for the protests against the communist government that occurred there in 1989. The protests revolved around demands from the people for greater democratic freedoms, an end to rampant official corruption and profiteering within the communist party, and a greater level of power sharing within a government that was functioning more as an oligarchy than a government of the people. The protests ended on June 4th of that same year with the declaration of martial law and the shooting of an unknown number of civilian victims by the military.

What many people are unaware of however is that there were, all together, 3 major protests that have occurred in Tian’amen following the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1912. All of the protests were motivated by a greater want of individual freedoms; all of the protests failed.

But that was then and this is now, and now it is a must on every travelers to-do list in Beijing, because frankly, no one really cares about the history of the place. Take it as you will, but I have been guilty of the very same every time I have visited Tian’anmen; all I can think about is how funny it is that this Monument to the People was appropriated from the former dynasties and abuts that most bourgeoisie of imperial households, the Forbidden City.

Speaking of the Forbidden City, I bet the Emperors are rolling over in their mausoleums every time another filthy-footed hoi polloi touches sacred imperial ground. But then again, Pu Yi didn’t really seem to care (but I guess you can’t really say much when your choices are cake [read: communism] or death).

Either way, I love the Forbidden City. Built over a period of 14 years from 1406-1420, this marvel of human ingenuity stretches over an area of 72 hectares and contains 980 buildings. It was home to 22 emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties for almost 500 years until the fall of the Qing. One more cool fact: the Forbidden City is the oldest and largest wooden palace structure in the world. Although sections have burned down now and then (I mean, this is Beijing after all, there are open flames pretty much everywhere) most of the city is original.

I went to Tian’anmen Square and the Forbidden City for the first time about a month after I had moved to Beijing with my roommate in august of 2012, my second time was in July 2013 with my parents, and earlier this month I traveled there with my little brother (I went to Tian’anmen itself once with some friends in March or April of 2013 but not 紫禁城) . I love these two pieces of history so much I am sure I will go back many more times.