My First Trip to Tiananmen Square
When I was a freshman of Hebei Medical University, I had the first chance to visit our capital –Beijing. That spring, my roommates and I set out from Shijiazhuang to Beijing by train at 1:30 o’clock in the early morning, so that we could catch the National Flag raising ceremony of Tiananmen Square. Though it was so early, all of us talked about Beijing which each knew with interest and can’t sleep at all on the train.
At about 5:00 o’clock we arrived at the West Station of Beijing and immediately left for the Tiananmen Square by underground without any stop. When I stood on the grand square, I could feel the excitement in my bones. It still was dark; there were no people except for us and the guards in the watchtowers on the capacious square. Although wind blew hard with chillness, we talked and laughed, stamping our feet and rubbed our hands for cold, longing for daybreak.
At last it was dawning, tourists grew more and more and a crowd of pupils with Red Cravats also came here. Gradually people congregated around the stage of raising National Flag and focused on the direction of the Golden Water Bridge. As pieces of rosy clouds appeared in the east, the escort of National Flag finally paraded toward us from the Golden Water Bridge and crowds became a little tumult. Length by length, they marched closely to the below of flag pole. Dazzling Five-Star Red Flag, orderly alignment, accordant steps, grass-green service uniforms, snow-white gloves, flashing bayonets, that was our escort of National Flag. Crowds became silent and waited for the solemn moment. As soon as the sun emerged from the horizon, the March of the Army of Volunteers was performed and the flagman cast the red flag to the air with a red arc line. That was classical instant！Bit by bit, the fluttering National Flag slowly moved to the top of the flag pole with the March of the Army of Volunteers, the fixating of hundreds of people, the salutes of the escorts of National Flag. We stood quietly there and prayed for the prosperity of our motherland until the escort of National Flag was out of our sight.
After the exciting moment, we came to the Tiananmen Gate Tower and got photos with the portrait of the great Chairman Mao in the front of gate tower. When the dreams of the childhood came true, I couldn’t help tears filling my eyes. Then we visited the Monument to the People’s Heroes, the Museum of the Chinese Revolution as well as the Mao Memorial Hall, all that we saw and heard deeply impressed us and we immersed in the hardships of China Revolution and the unyielding struggles of the martyrs. Recalled the predecessors’ hardships of the past and contrasted it with our happiness of today, I really realized we youth should cherish each day and try our best to contribute all the strength to our great country.
Time fast glided. As the nightfall came, we had to say good-bye to the Tiananmen Square. On the way I thought a lot, it seemed to me that at one blow I had a true grasp of “every common man has his obligation for rise and fall of the motherland”.
