Beijing: Mausoleum of Mao Zedong (毛主席纪念堂, Máo Zhǔxí Jìniàntáng)

This was our waiting place :P

Also known as Chairman Mao Memorial Hall is the final resting place for Chair Mao, or referred to as Grandpa Mao (毛爷爷) by the younger generation.

This mausoleum is located in the middle of Tiananmen Square in Beijing and open half day (8am to 12pm) from Tuesday to Sunday.

Only ID and mobile phone are allowed inside the mausoleum. The balance of things, like camera, bags, etc if you carry them, you will have to deposit at deposit area before queueing up to get in. Entrance to the mausoleum itself is free but one will have to pay a fee for deposit, extra for cameras for safety precaution.

Initially we queued up to deposit our bags as we thought it might take a while to get in and out. However after spoken to a lady who works there, we decided against it. After all, I was travelling with sis, so we took turns to take care of things and going in.

The first photo was where we set as our meeting/waiting place, just in front of the statue so we won't get lost, also it was near the exit of mausoleum.

正阳门, Zhengyangmen

Opposite Chairman Mao's Mausoleum, one can find this gate - Zhengyangmen. This gate was part of the old city wall that was demolished in late 1960s.

There was a bit of a crowd, makes me wonder if China citizens actually pay respect to Chairman Mao everyday but the queue moved fairly fast. This place was fully guarded and we were urged to move faster, also no photographs were allowed. One needs a valid ID to enter the hall but they only check randomly. Mobile phones needs to be switched off or silenced.

There were stalls selling flowers as one approached the entrance of the mausoleum. The flowers could be placed in front of Chairman Mao's statue in the hall, just right before the room with his casket. I can't help thinking if they collect those flowers and re-sell them.

We took a bus to there despite there was a subway station right in front of the mausoleum. We were just being silly, as this station is under Line 2, which is even more convenient for us as the subway station near our hostel was also under Line 2. The bus we took stopped at Qianmen, I read that there is a famous pedestrian street there, shame we didn't walk that far. Next time!

Side note: Sakura mochi now... all these J drama not doing good for food cravings :/