BEIJING - Something felt off.

Conversation among the Idaho travelers held a vague feeling of discomfort at Tiananmen Square on Wednesday morning, their first full day of immersion into Beijing sightseeing.

Perhaps it was the omnipresent smog, or the daunting congestion consuming the freeway several feet away, separating the world's largest square from the Forbidden City.

But it was more than that. It was the unspoken memories of the violent oppression from 1989, and the stark contrast of that past with the square's current tranquility.

"I walked in here and thought, 'This feels so peaceful and safe,'" said Marilee Wallace, standing behind a fountain gurgling softly on the square. "It's bizarre to say that about Tiananmen Square."

Unmentioned in the day's tour were the horrors of June 1989, when bullets and tanks wiped out students protesting for Democracy. Also unmentioned was the activist involved in those protests - Liu Xiaobo - who just won a Nobel Prize in prison.

And yet, standing in the square in the midst of a warm breeze, it seemed almost natural that oppressed civil rights would be far from the minds of the gaggles of tourists.

Despite the crowd, the square was quiet, and void of litter. There were sprawling, vibrant flower gardens with arching designs, remainders of early October independence day celebrations.

Two colossal video screens flashed images of beautiful landscapes and gleeful dancers, while classical music droned from speakers. Families posed for photos, and soldiers around the square were passive as they watched visitors purchase ice cream treats.

Not what folks usually hear about Tiananmen Square.

"It's so much more progressive than I imagined. And it's very clean, considering how many people are here," said Post Falls resident Veronica Garnsey, glancing back at the massive digital screens. "I don't know what I was expecting. But it's sad, too. You know the people who were protesting that day had good intentions, and were killed for that."

Madora Parmentier of Coeur d'Alene said it was eerie timing to visit Tiananmen Square at the same time as the Nobel Prize controversy.

"It's an odd feeling," she said after posing for photos with the flower garden. "It certainly bothers me. He was such an activist, and now was in jail because he felt what he did was right. The world apparently felt the same, because he won the Nobel Prize."

Audrey Wallace, 81, said that her generation's first introduction to China was the Tiananmen protests.

And yet seeing the square today would make strangers think there is a different environment, she said.

"The history I recall first is when the students protested and were shot," she said. "That stays in my mind. But what's happened since then, how the government is trying to bring people into the Western world is impressive."

Her daughter, Marilee Wallace, walking with her to gaze at the parliament building fronting the square, added that the TV screens and pacified crowds were opposite of what she has seen on TV with soldiers parading down the street.

She wouldn't fear the square now, she said.

"Everybody's so peaceful, respectful. It's not loud," she said. "I feel very at peace right now."