The Tian'anmen Square is the political center of China . Covering an area of 44 hectares(109 acres), it is the biggest public square in the world. On the Square you can see China Congress Hall, Tiananmen Gate Tower , China National History Museum, the Monument to Peoples' Heroes, Chairman Mao's Memorial Hall and the Old Watchtowers.

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Pictures on the Tiananmen Square:

Tiananmen	China National Museum	The Parliament House
Zhengyang Gate	Zhengyang Gate	Chairman Mao's Memorial Hall
The Monument to People's Heros	Sculptures	Sculpture
Tiananmen Square on National Day	Guards of National Flag	Flag Raising Ceremony
Dr Sun Yat-sen	Chairman Mao	Founding Ceremony of P.R.C.

More Stories About the Tiananme Square:

Tian’anmen
Located in the center of the city of Beijing, Tian’anmen is the symbol of the People’s Republic of China. First built in 1417, the 15th year of Emperor Yongle’s reign of the Ming Dynasty, It was formerly called Chengtianmen, which meant Gate of Heavenly Succession. Behind the name, it means that “the emperor started his fortune by acting upon the mandate of the heaven” and “everything he did was to carry out the will of the heaven above”. Later it was burnt by flame of war in 1651, the 18th year of Emperor Shunzhi’s reign of the Qing Dynasty. And the name was changed into “Tian’anmen’’, which meant heavenly peace gate. The tower at the top of the gate is nine-room wide and five –room deep. According to the Book of Changes, when the two numbers nine and five were combined, that symbolized the supreme dignity of a sovereign. In the feudal times, ceremonies of great importance, such as promulgating an imperial edict, conferring the title of queen, announcing a newly enthroned emperor were all held on the Tian’anmen Rostrum and then made known to the public in the country. The first three candidates who passed the palace examinations would be called to be received by the emperor in Ming and Qing Dynasties. When that happened the official would call their names by turn on the Tian’anmen Rostrum. When an imperial edict was issued, the procedure went as follows:

1. The Minister of Rites would receive the edict in Taihedian (Hall of Supreme Harmony), where the Emperor was holding his court. The minister would then carry the decree on a yunpan (tray of cloud), and withdraw from the hall via Taihemen (Gate of supreme Harmony).
2. The Minister would put the tray in a miniature Longting (dragon pavilion) beneath a yellow umbrella and carry it via Wumen (Meridian Gate), to Tian'anmen Gate Tower.
3. A courtier would be accredited to proclaim the edict. The civil and military officials standing both sides of the gateway beneath the tower would prostrate themselves in the direction of the emperor in waiting for the decree to be proclaimed.
4. The courtier would then put the edict in a phoenix-shaped wooden box and lower it from the tower by means of a silk rope. The document would finally be carried in a similar tray of cloud under a yellow umbrella to the Ministry of Rites.
5. The edict, copied on yellow paper, would be made known to the whole country. Such a process was historically recorded as “Imperial Edict Issued by Golden Phoenix". During the Ming and Qing dynasties Tian'anmen was the most important passage. It was this gate that the emperor and his retinue would go through on their way to the altars for ritual and religious activities.

On the western side of Tian'anmen stands ZhongshanPark (Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Park), and on the eastern side, the Working People's Cultural Palace. The Park was formerly called Shejitan (Altar of Land and Grain), built in 1420 for offering sacrificial items to the God of Land. It was opened to the public as a park in 1914 and its name was changed in 1928 to the present one in memory of the great pioneer of the Chinese Democratic Revolution. The Working People's Cultural Palace used to be Taimiao (the Supreme Ancestral Temple), where tablets of the deceased dynastic rulers were kept.

The stream in front of Tian'anmen is called Waijinshuihe (Outer Golden Water River), with seven marble bridges spanning over it. Of these seven bridges, historical records say the middle one was for the exclusive use of the emperor and was accordingly called Yuluqiao (Imperial Bridge). The bridges flanking it on either side were walked by the members of the royal family and were therefore called Wanggongqiao (Royal's Bridges). Farther away on each side of the two were bridges for officials ranking above the third order and were named Pinjiqiao (Ministerial Bridges). The remaining two bridges were for the use by the retinue below the third order and were called Gongshengqiao (Common Bridges). They are the one in front of the Supreme Ancestral Temple to the east and the one in front of the Altar of land and Grain to the west.

The two stone lions by the Gate of Tian'anmen on each side were meant as sentries. They gaze toward the middle axis, guarding the emperor's walkway. In front of the gate stands a pair of marble columns called Huabiao. They are elaborately cut in bas-relief following the pattern of a legendary dragon. Behind the gate stands another pair of similar columns. The story of Huabiao may be traced to a couple of sources. One of the versions accredits its invention to one of the Chinese sage kings named Yao, who was said to have set up a wooden pillar in order to allow the ordinary people to expose evil-doers; hence it was originally called a slander pillar. Later it was changed into a signpost, and now it serves as an ornament.
The beast sitting on the top of the column is called "hou", a legendary animal, which is said to have been a watcher of an emperor's behavior. He was doing such duties as warning the emperor against staying too long outside the palace or indulging in pleasure in the palace and urging him to go to see the people for their complaints and return in due time. Therefore, the two pairs of beasts were given the names "Wangjungui" (Expecting the emperor's coming back) and "wangjunchu" (Expecting the emperor's going out) respectively.
In the old days, Tian'anmen, as a part of the Imperial City, was used for important ceremonies. The two rows of chaofang (antechamber), on the sides behind the main gate, were reserved for civil and military officials to wait for imperial audience and in front of the gate, were offices of imperial administration.
On October 1, 1949, Chairman Mao Zedong proclaimed on Tian'anmen Rostrum the founding of the People's Republic of China. Since then Tian'anmen has been the symbol of New China. Chairman Mao's portrait is hung above the central entrance, flanked by two slogans:" Long Live the Great Unity of the Peoples of the World" and “Long Live the People’s Republic of China”. Today, the splendor of Tian'anmen attracts million of visitors from all over the world. The Rostrum on its top was opened in 1988 to the public for the first time in its history. It can offer a nice panoramic view of the Square and the city proper.
Tian'anmen Square
In the old times, the Tian’anmen Square was forbidden to common people. Even they couldn’t take a look at it otherwise, they would be deemed as committing a crime of “illegally peeping at the palace gate”. When the officials got to the front of the gate they had to get off the horse and proceed on foot into the palace. For the common people whoever wanted to go from the east of the city to the west must make a detour. There were some offices beside the Tian’anmen Square. The people used to describe such offices with the saying:” the offices in the east are dealing the living and those on the west are manipulating the death”. Before there were two gates on the Chang’an Street, culprits for “palace trial” or “autumn trial” were all escorted into the square through the west gate with everyone weeping and crying as if they were brought to the mouth of a tiger. But those scholars who passed the palace examination were summoned to attend the banquet through the east gate with happiness as if they were carps overleapt the dragon gate. So the east gate was called “Dragon Gate” and the west gate was called “Tiger Gate”.
Revolutionary activities on Tian’anmen Square
The Tian’anmen Square, due to the invasion of foreign colonialists over the past hundred years, has been trampled underfoot and many a time it has suffered from destruction and humiliation, but the anti-imperialist and anti-feudalistic movements have never ceased.
In 1919, the May 4th Movement took place here. It is an epoch-making event in the modern history of China as it fired the first gunshot, marking the beginning of the new democratic revolution stage in China by Chinese people in their struggle against imperialism and feudalism.
On December 9th 1935, the patriotic students in Beijing held a mass rally here, denouncing the invasion of China by Japanese imperialism and opposing the high-handed suppression of the students’ movement by arm and police. This is the “December 9th students Movement”.
On 20th may, 1947, the progressive students of Beijing stage a demonstration here, demanding strongly the “implementation of decisions adopted at the political consultative conference to form a coalition government”. They shouted the slogan”oppose hunger and civil war” to express their wishes for establishing a new China.
On October 1st, 1949, Chairman Mao standing on the Tian’anmen Rostrum solemnly declared to the world that ”the People’s Republic of China has been founded” and “ the Chinese people have ever since stood up”. Chairman Mao himself raised the first five-star red flag up to the sky. On that day the people in Beijing gathered on the Tian’anmen Square to hold a grand celebration of the great victory won by the Chinese people in the revolution, and the state leaders reviewed the People’s Liberation Army.
The Monument to People’s Heroes
It was erected in 1958, covering 3,000 square meters, built of 17,000 pieces of granite and white marble, standing 37.94 meters high. The obelisk itself is 14.7 meters in height, 2.9 meters in width and 1 meter in thickness, Weighing 60 tons. Inscribed on its front side are such words: “Eternal Glory to the People’s Heroes”, autographed by Chairman Mao. The inscription at the back is in the handwriting of the late Premier Zhou Enlai with all characters gold-plated. The 8 pieces of white marble carvings in relief depicted the earth shaking events ever happened in the Chinese revolution in time spanning of 100 years in the past. At the top of the Monument are eight gigantic carved wreathes of such flowers as peony, lotus and chrysanthemum, symbolizing nobility, purity, and fortitude. At the base of the monument are eight marble relieves depicting the Chinese historic events since 1840 as follow:
1. The Burning of Opium at Humen in 1840:
2. The uprising of 1851 in Jintian, Guangxi;
3. The Revolution of 1911;
4. The May Fourth Movement of 1919;
5. The May 30th Movement of 1925;
6. The Uprising of 1927 in Nanchang, Jiangxi;
7. The War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression from 1937 to 1945;
8. The Victorious Crossing over the Yangtze River by the People’s Liberation Army in 1949. This relief is flanked by two smaller ones—"Supplying the Front" and "Greeting the P.L.A."
The monument is to member people’s heroes who lost their lives in numerous struggles against both domestic and foreign enemies for the national independence and liberation, and for the freedom and happiness of the Chinese people.

The Great Hall of the People
This is one of the largest congressional buildings in the world. Built in 1959, the hall consists of three parts: a 10, 000-seat auditorium in the center, a banquet hall in the north wing facing Chang'an Avenue, with a seating capacity of 5, 000, and offices for the Standing Committee of the National Peoples' Congress of China in the south. In addition, thirty-four reception chambers are named after various provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government, plus Hong Kong and Macao. Each is different from the other in decoration and furnishings to stress their local features.

The Museum of Chinese History and the Museum of the Chinese Revolution. These two museums were also built in 1959. The museum of Chinese History houses a permanent exhibition in four parts, covering the entire process of Chinese history spanning from 1.7 million years ago to 1919:
1. The Primitive Society (1.7 million years ago to the 21st century BC);
2. The Slave Society (21st century BC to 476 BC.);
3. The Feudal Society (475 BC. To 1840 AD.);
4. The Semi-Colonial and Semi- feudal Society (1840 to 1919.)
The Museum of the Chinese Revolution covers the period from 1919 to 1949.

Chairman Mao Memorial Hall
It was brought to a completion in May 1977, covering an area of 57,000 square meters with a total floor space of 28,000 square meters. Inside of it there are some halls open to public.
North Hall: In the center of the hall is the statue of Chairman Mao in sitting posture, which carved out of a piece of white marble, stands 3.45 meters in height. The backdrop is woolen tapestry” The Vast Land of Our Motherland” measuring some 7by 24 meters.
Hall for Paying Homage to the Remains of Chairman Mao: Laid in the center of the hall is a crystal coffin with Chairman Mao’s remains lying in it. Dressed in a gray uniform suit his body is covered with the flag of the Communist Party of China.
Memorial Rooms of the achievements of the first generation leaders of the P.R.C There displayed something to tell the meritorious deeds and great contributions they made in the Chinese revolution.
Movie Halls: Visitors can watch a documentary film entitled Everlasting Brilliance, which depicts the meritorious deeds and contributions made at different stages by the four great leaders and other forerunners.
South Hall: The hall is used for exit. Inscribed on the marble applied wall of the hall is poem composed by Mao to the “Melody of Manjianghong” in Guo Moruo’s handwriting.
Zhengyangmen Gate Tower
It was built in 1420, and the highest building at that time. The name of the gate was to suggest,” the emperor, representing the supreme authority under heaven, is like the midday sun in the sky that ought to receive the respects from all the countries around.” In the feudal society the gate was a passage of entry and exit reserved for the emperor himself alone.

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