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Mao Ze Dong Mausoleum

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holycow88
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Editor Pick

Chairman Mao Memorial Hall

  • November 16, 2007
  • Rated 5 of 5 by Mutt from Ankara, Turkey
Chairman Mao Memorial Hall

"Long live the great leader and mentor Chairman Mao"

In pride of place at the foot of Tian’anmen Square stand a rather ugly squat little building that houses, for the time being at least, the mortal remains of a rather ugly squat little man who still dominates the ideology of the New China he created.

Mao Zedong grew up in the rural communities of southern China where his ideology was formed. In 1921 he was one of the founders of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and he rose up through it’s ranks without ever truly understanding Marxist theory. He became defacto head of the CPC during the Long March (1934-35) and remade it in his own image emphasising the importance of the peasantry and guerilla warfare. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) swept Mao to power and in 1949 he declared the formation of the People’s Republic of China from Tian’anmen Gate. The Great Helmsman’s time in power included such controversies as the Great Leap Forward (1958-60) and the Cultural Revolution (1966-76) which left millions of his own people dead.

Following Mao’s own death in 1976 his chosen successor Hua Guofeng decided to try and shore up his somewhat shaky leadership by bringing the country together to build a suitable memorial. Granite from Sichuan, tiles from Guangdong, pines from Shaanxi and Jiangxi, decorative rocks from Nanjing and Tibet, earth from the recently devastated city of Tangshan and sand from the Taiwan Straits were used in the construction. 700,000 volunteers from all over the country were lined up to move bricks backwards and forwards in symbolic but ultimately pointless work. Finally, like Lenin and Ho Chi Minh before him, Mao’s body was, thanks to some Vietnamese knowhow, preserved against his wishes and put on display in a mighty crystal coffin.

The Maosoleum (Tue-Sun 8:30am-11:30am + Tue&Thu 2pm-4pm, free) can be visited by dropping off your bags and camera in the luggage store across the road and joining the cues at the north entrance. While outside you can rent flowers to leave at the foot of the massive white statue of Mao that dominates the Memorial Hall. Beyond this you will quickly hurried past row upon row of uniformed PLA troops on guard to prevent Mao's escape before catching a brief glimpse of the waxy looking little corpse in it’s natty Sun Yat-sen suit draped with the Chinese flag in the Hall of Last Respects and then out into the massive gift shop where you can buy copies of the so-called Little Red Book of Quotations from Chairman Mao, the wonderful waving Mao pocket watches and other tourist tack of which The Great Helmsman would doubtless approve.

Today even the party can’t ignore Mao’s failings taking the official line that he was 70% right and 30% wrong if those odds change much more the Maosoleums days could be numbered so catch him while you can.

From journal Beijing’s Tian’anmen Square: The Bleeding Heart of China

Editor Pick

Mausoleum of Mao Zedong

  • March 8, 2006
  • Rated 4 of 5 by Paul Bacon from Rotherham, United Kingdom
Mausoleum of Mao Zedong

Mao Zedong casts a shadow over China like no other dictator (or democratically elected leader for that matter) in recent history. I am not particularly talking about the Cultural Revolution or the Great Leap Forward, although they did make a massive indentation on the face of modern China, rather I mean the industry that the face of the long departed leader has become.China is growing rapidly and is beginning to compete in world markets for all sorts of commodities. However, one thing that traders in Beijing have quickly established a monopoly in, is Mao memorabilia. Every time I have visited the Chinese capital I have been shocked at the variety of products adorned by the Chairman's image. If I am honest I was not too surprised at the sights of Mao t-shirts and badges, I even found the idea of a Mao pocket watch too quaint to resist, but a musical cigarette case that played the Chinese national anthem seemed just one step too far.Each time I passed Mao memorabilia in a gift shop, or saw it at the side of the street, I could not help but think that the man himself would have struggled with the idea of his image being used for profit. Similarly I am not sure he would approve of the way his body has also become something a tourist attraction in itself. The mausoleum sits in the center of Tienanmen Square and despite being open for just five hours a day, attracts hundreds of visitors.As I joined the queue I was shocked by two things: firstly that it was predominantly Chinese and secondly how ordered it was. Most other attractions around Beijing are awash with tour groups from all over the world. It seemed strange that after all the horrors of Mao's regime in its latter days, people would still be lining up to pay respects 20 years after his death. I looked around myself and wondered what impact Mao had had on the lives of the people that were stood close by. Surely some of their mothers, fathers, aunts or uncles had found themselves reeducated, relocated... or worse.The body itself is as anti-climactic as possible. Mao remains a rotund, albeit inanimate, figure and rests under a large red flag, which stretches up to his chest. You cannot take photos, or even stop for a closer look. Instead visitors are simply ushered past and onto the giant souvenir shop at the rear of the hall. If he had a grave rather than a giant mausoleum, I am sure Mr. Mao would be spinning in it.

From journal Living life to Mao

Editor Pick

Visiting Chairman Mao

  • August 22, 2002
  • Rated 4 of 5 by holycow88 from New York, New York
There is nothing quite like the experience of seeing a frozen communist icon. Visiting Chairman Mao Tse-Tung’s mausoleum is an intrinsic part of getting a glimpse into China’s present. Mao changed life in China irrevocably and he rests in the center of a grand monument.

The Mausoleum is located in Tiananmen Square opposite the Forbidden City. If you follow the Imperial Line which dissects the Forbidden City and leads from the Emperor’s throne through Tiananmen Square, you will find that it ends up directly where Mao is resting.

Anyone is permitted to see Mao and there is a constant line of mostly Chinese and a few non-Chinese that winds around the building. I stood in a line, of what must have been 300 people, for a much shorter time (about 30 minutes) than I had expected. You are not permitted to bring any bags, purses, backpacks in with you, so be sure to leave them at home.

As you get closer to the entrance, there is an opportunity to buy flowers to place before a statue of Mao. Most Chinese were buying them and placing them at his feet after kow-towing to the statue.

After passing the statue, you enter a room where you can see the man himself. Once inside, the guards instruct you to walk silently two by two. After all that waiting the actual time spent in the chamber itself is very short, perhaps a minute or so. Mao is lying, very handsomely dressed, in the center of a glass room, protected by four very serious looking guards. You pass so quickly that it doesn’t really give you much time to get a good look. After all, this man changed the course of one of the world’s oldest civilizations and he is not there to be gawked at. The chill in the room, the intensity of the guards, and the reverence of the visitors made it a very potent minute.

It was such a strong, stern reminder of power and ideology. I was startled to leave that room only to immediately enter a gift shop where they sell copies of Mao's little red book, Mao watches, Mao key chains and other paraphernalia (they didn’t have a Tianamen Square snow globe but that was about the only thing missing!) I couldn’t help but wonder what Mao would think of all this?

From journal Beijing, yeah baby, yeah!

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