May 19, 2008 - Written By Kimberly May
Everyone loves getting up at 5 am, right? Okay, waking up early may not be everyone's cup of tea but Clint (Hill), Jeff (Williams) and I decided to run the ~1.5 miles to Tiananment Square to try to catch the sunrise flag raising service. The flag raising ceremony isn't normally a big deal but how many times are we going to be in Beijing? There were two things we were not aware of when planning this run: (1) The sun apparently rises in Beijing earlier than anywhere else in the world (leaving the hotel at 5:15 am was about 30 minutes too late for catching the flag raising), and (2) this day marks exactly one week since the early quake in the Sichuan region and begins three days of mourning, making the flag raising a really big deal...and we missed it.
Despite missing the flag raising it was still a great experience. We arrived at about 5:30 am to see the flag at half mast and TV station vans in the Square. We were curious but didn't know who or how to ask what was going on.
While walking around Tiananmen Square we were approached by a group of young Chinese men who wanted a picture with us. We happily obliged knowing we'd get a good laugh out of it later. Well, so did another Chinese man who saw the whole ordeal happen. He introduced himself as Li Chen and had a good laugh with us. He was visiting home but had been living in the US for several years. He also informed us about the three days of mourning that started that day and of the three minutes of remembrance that would occur that afternoon.
The three minutes began at 2:28 pm, which was the time that the earthquake began exactly one week prior. The three minutes were in reference to the duration of the earthquake. The entire country "shut down"; shops stopped selling, all stop lights turned red and people honked their horns. We were standing on the corner outside our hotel during these three minutes among many other motionless pedestrians. Witnessing this moment in time sent a chill down my spine. I am constantly amazed with the things that this country has the want and ability to do. I feel, as I am sure the rest of the group does, privileged to be a part of this moment in history in China.
All Pictures by Kimberly May
The entrance to the Forbidden City at sunrise
The flag of China flying at half mast at sunrise
A walkway just outside the walls of the Forbidden City at sunrise
The "Traffic Controller" sent to the intersection by our hotel to turn the lights red.
