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:  Blade RunnerBeijing, January 2009North Korean RestaurantBeijing TourismRural to Urban MigrationBeijing: Reading the City (Official Texts)Seeing Foreign Bands in BeijingWangjing: Korean MigrationTaijian Bowuguan798Beijing Subway VisualizationLos Angeles: FuturesBeijing: PastBeijing: Chang'an JieBeijing Death CloudBeijingL.A. Songs: HappyTimeout BeijingL.A. Songs: Desperados Under the EavesExpat MigrationMulholland DriveBeijing: YonghegongFahaisiBeijing: GulouWudaokouBeijing DoorsBeijing: A Global City?Long Live Shougang SteelHutongsTsinghuaL.A. Songs: Funtimes in BabylonBeijing LiteratureBeijing Subway MapMigrant Children in the RubbleBeijing Light MapBeijing Airport - LandingKeanu & Man of Tai ChiBeijing, China南锣鼓巷Beijing SimulacraBeijing: Reading the City (Culture)Educational MigrantsLine I: Orientations & PlacesBeijing Capital International AirportYoudu 幽都Beijing Smog Map IIBeijing 1968 MapBeijing PhotosRecyling VillageBeijing Smog MapBeijing 1968Beijing by Peter CarneySkylinesThe 8th Ring Road: Limits/Speculative Futures/ConclusionsBeijing FilmBeijing FlybyLine 13: Experiencing MigrationsBeijing: BookwormBeijing SkyL.A. Songs: It Was a Good DayLos Angeles: Light and DarkBeijing: Recycling VillageLine II: Past and PresentBeijing to SeattleLos Angeles: Reading the CityBeijing 1907Beijing: First Ring RoadBeijing Cover ImageVirtual Dubai: Spec Ops: The LineBeijing Vimeo MoviesBeijing TaxiBeijing SkylineSanlitunWelcome to the Northern CapitalBeijing Music SceneBeijing: FuturesBeijing MonumentsBeijing - ShichahaiBeijing GhostsPinguoyuanBeijing Subway Close UpBeijing: Asian Migrants and LaborersBeijing, China