Tian An Men square

Right in front of the Forbidden palace is Tian An Men square. It's just an ordinary large boulevard and square, nothing spectacular. The only thing spectacular about it is the history associated with it. As with most Communist countries there is the need of this wide boulevard in which to parade their military might on the first of May each year. We don't celebrate the first of May in the USA, we don't have a need of wide boulevards. We never display our military might in public. We've seen the making of history in the uprising of the Chinese people during the Tian An Men riots and the riots in the middle East is a clear reminder. But the Chinese uprising did not end well and the people got nothing out of it. China is still a communist country. But it took me a while to get here. Finally I'm in Beijing and in front of the Forbidden palace. I have shivers in my spine. The air in Beijing is always like this, smoggy. The air over the major cities in China are always like this too.