毛主席120周年诞辰 各界群众瞻仰其遗容
As the subway rolled into Qianmen Station, Christmas carols played in the corridor. Outside the station, visitors to the Mao's mausoleum in Tian'anmen Square were queuing up for security checks.The mausoleum opened in 1977, one year after Mao passed away. On Thursday, a ceremony will be held to commemorate his 120th anniversary.
Behind the gate, a stall sells white chrysanthemums for 3 yuan (0.49 U.S. dollars) each.
In the dim interior of the building visitors fall silent. A little boy asked quietly as he passed by Chairman Mao, "Daddy, where is the gift Father Christmas gave me this morning?"
His father hushed him, with a smile on his face. It was Christmas. Nearby shopping malls and hotels have put up Christmas trees.
The excursion around the mausoleum was short, no more than two minutes. souvenir shops at both sides of the road leading to the exit were sell pens, statues, silk paintings, pocket watches, all that featuring Mao's portrait.
"You can't find anything like ours in any other places, high quality at lowest prices," said a saleswoman.
The prices have suffered little from inflation in the past 30 years, but the visitors have changed.
"Most visitors were group travelers and citizens in the past, but now I see more people from the countryside," said a lady who took paid photos for visitors. "They are better off these days. They are willing to spend 10 yuan on a photo with the building and themselves in it."
People sat on a bench not far from the exit were from a northwestern village, and had come all the way just to pay a visit to Chairman Mao, but they did not know tomorrow was his birthday.
A newly-wed couple from central Hunan, Mao's birthplace, came to the mausoleum knowing his birthday was the next day.
"We have chosen to spend our honeymoon in Beijing, partly because our parents wanted us to. They've always wished to visit their 'folk'," said the husband Li Huaiming.
Pierre Blanc, a foreign expert teaching in Beijing's Tsinghua University, invited his family and friends from France to spend the holiday in China.
"It is a very special Christmas, and we'd like to pay a visit to the symbolic leader of the country," Pierre said.
When informed that Mao's anniversary was the next day, Pierre said it was an even better opportunity for reunions with family members, friends, the great man and his countrymen.
12月26日是毛泽东120周年诞辰。毛主席纪念堂始建于1976年，次年落成。
进入纪念堂大门，卖花的摊位正在出售白菊花，三元一枝。据工作人员介绍，三十多年来，纪念堂出售的菊花价格变动不大，不过纪念堂刚开放时的菊花是纸折的。进入肃穆的瞻仰厅，灯光暗了下来，游客不再说话。经过毛主席身边时，一个七八岁模样的男孩突然悄悄问：“爸爸，圣诞老爷爷给我的礼物哪去了？”他爸爸迅速跟儿子比划了一个“嘘”的手势。这天刚好是圣诞节，天安门附近的一些宾馆和商场摆放了圣诞树。
瞻仰过程约两分钟。走下台阶，两旁的纪念品商店正在出售各种纪念品。有各种毛泽东塑像、怀表，还有印有毛主席头像的钢笔、丝绸画、小挂件等等，成为了众多参观者的选择。工作人员介绍，在纪念堂里，鲜花和商品的价格似乎没怎么受到外面通胀因素的影响。“以前来这里的团队和城里人比较多，但这两年来参观的外地农民明显多了起来。”一名在此从事多年“拍照立取”的工作人员说。
不远处，几个刚从纪念堂出来的参观者找了块空地席地坐了下来，他们操着浓厚的西北口音，说大老远来北京就是为了看毛主席一眼，这里自然成为了他们的第一站，但他们并不知道明天就是毛主席的生日。从湖南来的李怀明夫妇却是特地来给主席“庆生”的。新婚的小两口特地把蜜月地点选在了北京，也有一部分是尊重了父母的意思，来纪念堂看望他们的“老乡”。
清华大学的外籍教师皮埃尔·勃朗带着从法国来的家人和朋友到天安门广场，顺道参观了毛主席纪念堂。他说：“在中国过圣诞很特别，所以我们要来瞻仰一下这个国家符号式的领袖。”当得知明天就是毛泽东的诞辰纪念日时，皮埃尔击掌称巧：“那更是一个值得团聚的日子，家人、朋友，还有逝去的伟人！”
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