People's Square as seen from the Urban Planning Exhibition Center

Arriving at People's Square, which I accomplished via the Red Line (Metro Line 1), was a bit anti-climactic. I was expecting some grand vista like that of the infamous square which-must-not-be-named in Beijing. Instead, I came out of the People's Square metro station into the usual blasting heat but surrounded in green. I met three people that I believe were pretending to be English-learning tourists from Hangzhou (though they could have been legit) but managed to politely decline their advances of going to a tea ceremony (I read on Wikitravel that this is a common occurrence with an end result of going to a tea house that costs the invitee several hundred rmb). Honestly, however, I was on my way to the Urban Planning Exhibition Center and could care less about a tea ceremony. Read More »