One good thing about a guided tour package is that you get a great hotel at an affordable price. We stayed in the Palace Hotel and it was probably the most fancy place I have ever stayed in.
At the north end of Tiananmen Square is the Tiananmen Gate with the picture of Mao. It was from here that Mao declared the People's Republic of China in 1949.
At the east end of the square is the Museum of the Chinese Revolution and Chinese History. Unfortunately, most of the building was closed for renovation.
At the west end of the squre is the Great Hall of the People which is the building where the legislature meets. And it too was closed! In this case because the legislature was in session and security was very tight around the building.
Near the center of the massive squre is the Monument to the People's Heroes. As you can see some scaffolding is going up probably for bleacher seating as May 1 Labor Day celebration was a little less than a week away.
Behind the Monument at the south end of the square is the Mao Memorial Hall. Security is very strict here. We left our cameras, water bottles, bags, purses, packs and everything else with our tour guides before we got in line to enter.
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