Tiananmen Square (Beijing, China)

Tiananmen Square is impressive for its size, historical significance, and people watching. When I visited, the huge portrait of Mao was present (and I assume it remains) as well as a large digital clock counting down the years, days, hours, and seconds when Macau was to be returned from the Portuguese. I tried to get some Red Army grunts to point their guns at me for a photo op with my hands in the air, but they wouldn't play along. Perhaps others will have more luck.

Difficult to rate. Size of the Square is impressive, always filled with people, and the Chinese military. Hard to ignore the fact that the government can, and does, close the area whenever it wants, in order to disperse the people.