Tiananmen is quite expansive and looks toward the walls of the Forbidden City. We seemed to have twice timed it perfectly to miss the museum, so just had to appreciate the scope and sculptures. Chinese tourists consider us a 'site' as well, and often asked to be photographed with us freaks - lots of smiling and laughter all the way around.
Tiananmen, like much of Beijing, is a broad expanse of unshaded concrete. Although there was no direct sun, many residents carry umbrellas for a bit of shade, and, despite the heat, couture was overall fairly formal with most of the women sporting skirts and dresses, and rarely uncovered shoulders. Tanktops and spaghetti straps - of which we glimpsed maybe 5 during our entire stay - were the clear sign of a foreigner.
Interesting note: when I later tried to show the kids some of the historical images & import of Tiananmen, it was completely unavailable to us from online within China. Molly later filled us in that all public & sharing sites (Wikipedia, Facebook, Blogger, etc) are heavily monitored and/or unavailable within China - unless you have the ability to hack&pirate.
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