Sign in or register
for additional privileges

Asian Migration and Global Cities

Anne Cong-Huyen, Jonathan Young Banfill, Katherine Herrera, Samantha Ching, Natalie Yip, Thania Lucero, Randy Mai, Candice Lau, Authors
Previous page on path     Next page on path

Other paths that intersect here:
 

You appear to be using an older verion of Internet Explorer. For the best experience please upgrade your IE version or switch to a another web browser.

Tian'anmen



"我爱北京天安门” (I Love Beijing Tian'anmen) a Chinese Children's song goes. . . 

The Gate of Heavenly Peace is of central importance to Beijing. It is the front gate to the Forbidden City. It also sits at the northern end of fourth largest square in the world: Tian'anmen, where so much of China's 20th Century history has run through. 

Tian'anmen is the central reference point of the city. It is the square of Chinese power. Where Mao proclaimed the founding of the PRC and welcomed Red Guards. It is lined by buildings such as the Great Hall of the People and the National Museum, as well as containing Mao's Tomb. It is also the space of Chinese state repression. All you have to do is think of 6/4 or 1989. All these things, all these ghosts, linger in the square, embedded in its concrete. 

Mao's portrait looks out over the empty space. . . 

Patriotic videos of China's greatness play in the middle. Tourists mingle. The seal of the PRC sits giant on top of the soviet style building. 

It is a place of ambivalent feelings and layered meanings, yet it is still striking to be here. To come on the October Holiday and see the people mingle, proud of their country. Or to sit in the rooftop garden of one of my favorite restaurants, Capital M, and look out over the square. I don't always know what to think. 

All roads in Beijing lead through Tian'anmen. . . 
Comment on this page
 

Discussion of "Tian'anmen"

Add your voice to this discussion.

Checking your signed in status ...

Previous page on path Line I: Orientations & Places, page 1 of 11 Next page on path

Related:  Beijing: First Ring RoadNorth Korean RestaurantLine II: Past and PresentBeijing, ChinaLine I: Orientations & PlacesBeijing: GulouTaijian BowuguanBeijing, ChinaBeijing: A Global City?Expat MigrationL.A. Songs: Desperados Under the EavesBeijing Music Scene南锣鼓巷Beijing Death CloudLine 13: Experiencing MigrationsBeijing SkylineBeijing to SeattleBeijing 1968 MapBeijing TourismL.A. Songs: It Was a Good DayBeijing SkyL.A. Songs: Funtimes in BabylonBeijing Subway MapLos Angeles: FuturesBeijing Smog Map IIYoudu 幽都TsinghuaBeijing LiteratureBeijing: Reading the City (Culture)PinguoyuanSanlitunBeijing, January 2009Beijing: BookwormBeijing by Peter CarneyWelcome to the Northern CapitalWudaokou798Beijing SimulacraBeijing Capital International AirportBeijing: Recycling VillageSkylinesBeijing: PastLos Angeles: Light and DarkLong Live Shougang SteelBeijing DoorsVirtual Dubai: Spec Ops: The LineThe 8th Ring Road: Limits/Speculative Futures/ConclusionsBeijing Smog MapBeijing TaxiEducational MigrantsBeijing: FuturesSeeing Foreign Bands in BeijingBlade RunnerBeijing Subway VisualizationFahaisiBeijing: Chang'an JieBeijing GhostsBeijing FilmMulholland DriveRural to Urban MigrationBeijing Cover ImageBeijing: Reading the City (Official Texts)Migrant Children in the RubbleBeijing 1968Beijing Airport - LandingL.A. Songs: HappyBeijing: Asian Migrants and LaborersBeijing 1907Wangjing: Korean MigrationBeijingHutongsRecyling VillageBeijing FlybyLos Angeles: Reading the CityBeijing Light MapTimeout BeijingBeijing MonumentsKeanu & Man of Tai ChiBeijing - ShichahaiBeijing Vimeo MoviesBeijing: YonghegongBeijing PhotosBeijing Subway Close Up