From a simple tourist's perspective Tiananmen Square is not all that remarkable. It is a large flat expanse of concrete with a monolith in the center, a few statues around the edges and several important government buildings nearby, one of which includes the remains of Chairman Mao entombed in glass. However since its historical significance is well-known and it is adjacent to the Forbidden City many tourists will no doubt go there. Many people would find that there is no need to allot much more than about 30 minutes or so to visit Tiananmen Square. On our trip we found that a lot of people spoke English well and were surprisingly frank about answering our questions. Here are some of the things that were said to us by various people we spoke to during our travels:

more pictures from Tiananmen Square

More than 500 were killed here that day ... at least 2500 were 'disappeared' maybe more. The military thought the students to be a mob.

Now over 200 government officials have been executed for crimes involving corruption.

North Korea is a pleasant place with a good environment, and many people emigrate there. South Korea is hell.

China fears a united Korea because together they would have a strong military.

China's best ally is Pakistan ... a buffer state between us and India.

China considers Japan the biggest enemy of all ... they are only a very small island and they always want our land.

Russia is a hungry polar bear that only wants to eat China and give nothing in return.

Some people think of Taiwan under China's dominion but it is really a separate place.

People in Beijing consider themselves the masters of China ... but there are over 50 ethnic groups with more than 30 different languages. When I visited my cousin in the south we spoke English. The government encourages people to learn Mandarin but eventually everyone will speak English.

The relations between the US and China now are very safe.

China is investing over 1 billion dollars US to prepare for the Olympics.