Tiananmen Square, June 1989

Seems topical today. I was in Tiananmen Square on the Tuesday, 4 days before the massacre.

Considering the place was under martial law it was all very relaxed. Hardly a policeman or soldier to be seen anywhere (except one who kindly directed me to the Mongolian embassy). The atmosphere was a bit like the camping area at a rock festival and everyone went out of their way to be nice to westerners. The mood of optimism was very strong, it really did seem as though democracy might break out (as it was doing elsewhere at that time).

My train left Beijing the following morning and I spent the next 10 days making my way by rail to Moscow via Mongolia and Siberia. The result was that, despite being there shortly beforehand, i was probably one of the last people in the world to learn of the terrible events on June 4th.

My parents in England had got my postcard from Beijing so they were, as you may imagine, pleased to hear from me. Especially so, since a train in Russia, reported in England as being on the Trans-Siberian railway, blew up killing hundreds of people a couple of days earlier.

A Harrowing but interesting story TYA. Thanks for sharing.



Where does your username come from, "Ten Years After"?

Cheers DJ.

It's the name of a rock group, famous in the late 60s and early 70s.