Walking Back to the Mass Shooting in Tiananmen

Shots were fired while tanks drove through towards the Tiananmen Square passing hundreds (some estimated thousands) of dead bodies. As the situation worsen, the screams of the running innocent civilians painted the square with horror. Democracy was what they asked for, but idealism suppression was what they had received.

The story went worldwide as films were developed and people began to see the true horror of what happened on June 4, 1989. One of the very famous photos that caught people's attention displays a protestor standing bravely in front of lining tanks. The world simply remembers the protestor as the Tank Man. 

Even though story went viral, the Tank Man might not even know that he is famous for his act. That is because up to this very moment, the Chinese government are trying so hard to avoid dispersion of news by blocking keywords that involves the nightmare also known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre. Apparently, the history is too shameful to be talked about. 

Are they successful? Internally, yes they are. The people of China doesn't seem to talk much about it and soon enough history might be forgotten. However, tourists from all over the world came flocking to Tiananmen to engulf the story untold.

Today, the Tiananmen Square had lost it's eerie ambiance. As you can see in my photos below, you would notice that it is actually a very instagrammable site! You would see millennials dressing up to take photos in Tiananmen for whatever social media they use in China.
Tiananmen, today, is a just another hip place for the young.
Rubbing the door handles for good luck.
Locals taking photos with Mao Zi Dong.
Is Tiananmen a good place to visit? If you love history and taking good photos, then Tiananmen is worthy of your visitation. Since I am a huge fan of those two, I found myself enjoying every second that I spent inside the Tiananmen Square. It was too bad that I couldn't get some local guidance due to the high language barrier

With a small entrance fee, I walked inside with curiosity to find out more about Tiananmen and the story behind it. However, all I got was zero explanation of the history itself. There was no signage or boards that explains about the incident. It was probably just an attempt to cover up the shameful incident that is still circulating globally.   

On the other hand, Mao Zi Dong's photos were literally everywhere in Tiananmen. One of his photos appeared placed huge and high on the gate of Tiananmen, heavily guarded by standing guards.  
A local couple spending the weekend at Tiananmen.
He looked like a 100 year old, but he walked like a 30 year old.
One of the many tunnels you will find in Tiananmen.
How they're keeping the places clean.
I fell in love with every details of the building. The olden days are filled with so many complex creativities that we do not embrace in the minimalistic art nowadays. Looking at the roofs, I felt that it was very similar to the temples and old buildings in Thailand. Unlike Japanese cultures whose traditional building colours were limited to red and wooden colours, Chinese and Thailand's seem to be more colourful with a mixture of blue and green.
Such a huge complex to explore.
You can spend the whole day to explore the complex of Tiananmen, but honestly, you wouldn't want to do that. As interesting as it is, 1-2 hours was enough for me. I could have gone more, but the place was so huge to explore and my parents' feet couldn't keep up with me anymore. As my parents rested for the 124314 times during the walk, these two young ladies were hopping here and there, taking photos with unlimited energy. At that moment, it dawned on me, that exploring the world must be done as young as possible.
The restless millennials.
The tired explorers. Nevertheless, they're quite the couple goals, right?
After the short walk, my parents decided to call it a day. Overall, they love the complex, but the walk could be tiring for some. Make sure you wear the right shoe for an endless exploration possibility to the Tiananmen Square. If you are traveling with an older family member, take it slow and pace yourselves according to theirs. The Tiananmen complex is a huge place to explore!

Soon enough, we hopped on to a bus and went back to the hotel. Even so, I left the place with a newfound knowledge of the massacre. Today, as we remember the 4th of June tragedy, I hope that the story keeps on circulating without any traces of it left behind. After all, that is why histories are taught, for us to avoid the past mistakes for a better future.
At the exit of Tiananmen, we found ourselves on a bridge, with a beautiful canal underneath. 

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