I don't know what sense of pride or belonging the Chinese people get out of walking the pavement of Tiananmen Square.
I do know that it is a focal point for Chinese tourists and often a destination point for pilgrimages from around the country.
Able to hold one million people at the same time, the square was part of the area where visiting
dignitaries could pitch camp while waiting for an audience with the Chinese Emperor.
Since the visitors travelled far and usually sought money, it made no sense to go home empty handed so sometimes they would wait for months for a few minutes of time.

But for me, and I suspect many Americans, there is a chilling sensation when walking the ground where a group of kids in 1989 stood up to the machine, literally, in protesting for democratic reform by risking their lives by standing in front of government tanks.
This Associated Press picture culled from an Internet library remains one of the defining images of freedom from the end of the last century.

That brings me to Mike, our tour guide, a tall and affable 25-year old Chinese student who taught himself English and practices words with his tour groups.
Mike (a name he uses to spare visitors the real pronunciation) knew an awful lot about Chinese history in general and the history of the Square in particular.
Until delegation members asked him about the 1989 uprising.

Then his face went blank.
"I don't know what you're talking about," he said in perfect honesty.
The people were never told.
Complain about the media all you want. A lot of the criticism is justified.
But sometimes it takes going half a world away, to realize the price of the alternative.