In those days, the infamous Red Guards showed up here in the square to be received by the Chairman they worshipped. And from here they set off on sometimes murderous rampages. He now rests in a drab mausoleum on the square's south side, the first stop for many of Tiananmen's visitors. After paying homage, they spill into the square. I blade across the smooth granite.
Police are everywhere.
The outlawed Falun Gong cult stages daily protests. Middle-aged women in meditation pose are frequently dragged away by the hair. Tiananmen today has lost none of its drama. Oliver August is the China correspondent for the Times of London.