We walked across the street to view the Great Hall of the People that houses the Peoples' Congress meetings (and I do mean across the middle of the street, in the middle of busy traffic...the norm in Beijing). This was also the center of the cultural revolution where people came to beg their important connections for help. One wing at the end is a banquet hall where Nixon, Kissinger, and others have been entertained...that wing is open only to the cadres. The masses are not allowed entrance. The Peoples' Congress had just been held before I got to the city. I am trying to give you the feeling of how majestic the building is, yet how closed off it is to all except the top party cadres. Please note the ubiquitous presence of the military. It certainly brought to mind all the newsreels and TV news programs in which I had seen and felt the building's presence.
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