Raising the flag in Tienanmen Square

It was one of those 'conference call till 5am - still jet lagged' mornings that found us in a cab heading for Tienanmen Square for the dawn flag raising ceremony. We had never been and I thought it would be romantic - the two of us in the square on a chilly February morning as dawn broke over the Forbidden City and the flag of the PRC was slowly raised to the mournful sound of single trumpeter.

Little did I know that this ceremony is on the itinerary of every Chinese tour group visiting Beijing. It was the two of us, a chilly February morning and about 5,000 out-of-towners six deep across the square. The national anthem blasted out of the loudspeakers as the guard-of-honour marched to the flagpole and raised the flag. It was all over in a few moments and the crowd scattered. Tienanmen at 6am was heaving and buzzing. We beat a hasty retreat to Steak and Eggs for a fry-up.