"Midnight" Bike Ride

A blurry morning bike ride through the empty streets of Beijing.

My professor calls it the "midnight" bike ride, but it's better/worse depending on your view. A group of us law students rented bikes, woke up to meet at 2:30 am, and we rode our bikes in the darkness, stillness, and quietness of Beijing from our university to Tiananmen Square.

The square was lively at 4:00 am because each day, there is a beautiful flag raising ceremony at sunrise. On the morning we chose, the sun rose at 4:45. The ceremony is, naturally, brief. The soldiers march out, slowly raise the flag to the national anthem, and then retreat.

Just before the flag raising.

The excitement and the crowd were interesting. The flag raising is something that citizens from all over the country come to see. I felt emotional, not only because the ceremony is beautiful, but also because I felt so connected to China and because those around me felt national pride in their country.

What's more, the bike ride back was exceptional! The sun was up, and the city was waking up and coming alive!

The flag has risen, and so has the sun.