As soon as we left the bus, a little way outside Tiananmen Square, it became obvious that China has changed a great deal since I first visited the city. For one thing nobody was wearing uniforms or red armbands. For another the ubiquitous coughing and spitting has, while not exactly disappeared completely, has been greatly reduced. It was the atmosphere that was most noticeable though. There is an openness, a lack of tension that wasn't there back then.
The people now in and around the square are clearly tourists, back then they seemed more like pilgrims. China may still be communist but it's a very capitalist style of communism now.
This new freedom seemed rather at odds with the frequent, and apparently pointless, X-ray checks that our bags were put through. I asked Bobby, our local guide, about it. He seemed rather amused.
"They bought a lot of X-ray machines before the Olympics," he explained, "So they feel they have to use them."
Our first vist was to something that hadn't been open to the public last time I was there - the Great Hall of the People. This is an impressive building that runs along the western side of the square and acts as a ceremonial building and the Chinese Parliament. Inside - among other things - are meeting halls for the various regions, a vast auditorium and various banqueting halls.
It's a magnificent building - outside and in. We were guided round for about an hour listening to descriptions of the building and the Chinese government, but, if truth be told, nobody was really listening as the look of the place was too distracting.
Eventually we returned to the reception hall. Through the glass doors we could see just how smoggy and dirty the air outside was, a fact that hadn't been immediately obvious to us when we were out there.
The people now in and around the square are clearly tourists, back then they seemed more like pilgrims. China may still be communist but it's a very capitalist style of communism now.
This new freedom seemed rather at odds with the frequent, and apparently pointless, X-ray checks that our bags were put through. I asked Bobby, our local guide, about it. He seemed rather amused.
"They bought a lot of X-ray machines before the Olympics," he explained, "So they feel they have to use them."
Our first vist was to something that hadn't been open to the public last time I was there - the Great Hall of the People. This is an impressive building that runs along the western side of the square and acts as a ceremonial building and the Chinese Parliament. Inside - among other things - are meeting halls for the various regions, a vast auditorium and various banqueting halls.
It's a magnificent building - outside and in. We were guided round for about an hour listening to descriptions of the building and the Chinese government, but, if truth be told, nobody was really listening as the look of the place was too distracting.
Eventually we returned to the reception hall. Through the glass doors we could see just how smoggy and dirty the air outside was, a fact that hadn't been immediately obvious to us when we were out there.
1 comment:
what an amazing building. It looks stunning inside.
Bev D
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