Tian Anmen Square

As soon as the train arrived we were whisked away to start our Beijing adventure in, you guessed it, Tian Anmen Square. This is in an underground tunnel that lets you walk under the street, way better for traffic and pedestrians.

Next is the main gate house in and out of the square with 93 very small windows for shooting arrows.

These are the four buildings that make up the square. One is the China museum which I think is the largest in China. We did not go, I guess it takes about 3 hours to see it all. Another is the main meeting building for all the lawmakers and high ranking officials and where the money is stored, which is also on the 100 RMB bill, you see pictured.  Apparently when there are meetings with these important people the square is totally closed to the public. The last is of course for the Chairman and you can see his picture on the front.

Lastly, this is a monument for the people’s heroes and some lovely colorful flowers and shrubs both inside the square.

Fun facts: Beijing is made up of 7 rings with the Capital building in the center of course. The building is only 39 meters high and no other buildings were/are allowed to be taller. If you read the plaque on the monument you will notice it is only 37.94 meters.

Beyond the second ring the buildings are allowed to be tall but the city is trying to preserve these two innermost rings as a historical area to show where and how the high ranking officials lived in the 1400’s. More on that later.