Tiananmen Square day

Tiananmen Square day

Beijing, China, Asia

I had a good night sleep last night and got to sleep quite late as well. I got up to watch the Patriots play against the Giants, and lose. It brought back memories of the 2008 Super Bowl, not a great start to the morning. I grabbed some breakfast at the hostel and decided that today I would go see Tiananmen Square.

Our hostel is just down the road from the square, so I headed out and found a small park between us and the millions of people crowding the entrance to the square and the Forbidden City. The park was really nice and tranquil compared to the hordes of people standing just outside the wall. The first thing I noticed when walking to the square was how many people were out trying to get your money. They were either trying to sell you something or trying to scam you, but regardless, they wanted what was in my wallet.

There were tons of people claiming to be students or artists who just want you to take a look at their gallery, and then other students who just wanted to practice their English over a cup of coffee or a beer. They both sound nice, but either way if you go with them you’ll be taken for probably $100 and then you have to spend your afternoon trying to tell the police what happened and getting your money back. I’ve found it’s best to just ignore everyone who tries to talk to me, and possibly even just wear headphones to deter some of them.

When I finally got into the square, I found it a bit underwhelming. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a big square, but there’s not really that much going on there. I saw a few memorials and a statue to the people of China, but that was about it. I had a walk around the square in about thirty minutes, and had seen enough. I headed out to Wangfujing to grab a bite to eat for lunch, and then just came back to the hostel.

I’ve made a tentative plan for the next few days, so I’m going to see the Forbidden City tomorrow, the Great Wall on Wednesday, Summer Palace on Thursday, and then fly out on Friday. At least I won’t be bored in Beijing!

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