The Mausoleum of Mao Zedong
Across the street from Tiananmen Square is the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong. This chapter is straight out of the dictatorship playbook to put a leader’s body to rest in a mausoleum. Mao was the leader of the Chinese Communist Party from 1935 until his death in 1976. He was part of the movement to abandon of Western liberalism for Marxism and Leninism as the answer to China’s problems and the founding of the Chinese Communist Party in 1921.
Zhenyangmen was once the South Gate to Beijing’s Inner City
Built in 1419 during the Ming Dynasty Zhenyangmen was once the south gate to Beijing’s Inner City. Now it’s just a tourist attraction that is near Tiananmen Square. The first photo is looking from the China Railway Museum and when looking from the left to the right you see Zhenyangmen, the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong, and the Monument to the People’s Heroes.
China Railway Museum
Across the street from Zhengyangmen is the China Railway Museum. If you’re into trains and near Tiananmen Square it is a short walk to get there.
First Time Eating a Chinese Hamburger in Xi’an
Tried a Chinese hamburger at a local place in Xi’an. The owner wanted to film me taking a bite so she can post it to Chinese media. I’m a picky eater so that is always a scary thing to do, but as it turned out this was actually pretty good.
