Tiananmen Square, Beijing

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The centre of the square is dominated by a high monument, always with a honor guard. It is the Monument to the People's Heroes, commemorating the martyrs who devoted their lives to the Chinese people.

With almost 38 meters, it is the biggest monument in Chinese history. I noticed that the young guards' uniform changed a lot, which means that they are several youth organizations paying tribute to their heroes.

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South of the Tiananmen-Square is the Qianmen Gate, which is part of the Zheng Yang Gate - Pure Sun Gate. Zheng Yang Gate was build in the 14th century during the rule of emperor Yong Le. The gate was a big walled round with two main buildings. It was build as a first line of defense in front of the Forbidden City.

Twice a year the middle gate was openend for the emperor, when he went to the Altar of Heaven or the Altar of Agriculture, where he did the main offerings, which were essential for good harvests and the wellbeing of the Chinese.

South of Qianmen Gate is now a lively area of shops and teahouses with renovated or newly build old houses and pedestrian streets. For more please see also my shopping-tips.

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It's big... big... big!!!! When we visited Tianamen Square there was a lot of security, so be patient as there appears to be thousands of people all wanting to visit this amazing place and all bags, backpacks etc had to be put through the security checkpoints and some of the visitors had to be frisqued this appeared to be random selections. Best part of this visit - it's FREE !!!!

Allow1 hour – flag raising ceremony – every morning around 6am in front of Gate and at sunset.

Subway Line 1 - get off at Tiananmen East or Tiananmen West Station
Subway Line 2 - get off at Qianmen Station and walk north

In the southern part of the square there are two towers, known as Qian Men, or port of entry. With about 40m high and in ancient Chinese style, were part of a set of doors on the wall, which served to separate the Forbidden City (imperial) of the "Chinese city", where the population resided. In 1960 that linked the wall was torn down to build the road. A pity, because they are the most beautiful facades of the square.

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Tian`an Men Guangchang, or Tiananmen Square, or Square door of heavenly peace. It is a venue in the heart of modern Beijing. In the distance is easy to observe a spacious, open, with many people. In terms of beauty it isn´t fascinating, but it has a political and historical history. It was here in 1989, there were the tragic student protests, whose images went around the world. On the other hand, has the mausoleum of Mao and is surrounded by Communist-style buildings of the 50s. In the background was the symbol of communism, but also represents the opposition and the massacre of students by communism.

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The first time most people became aware of Tiananmen Square was in broadcasts of the 1989 protests and the resulting massacre. The square tells a very different tale today.

This is the largest city square in the world. It was originally designed and built in Beijing in 1651 and was expanded to for times the original size and paved in 1958. it is named after Tiananmen - The Gate of Heavenly Peace - the entrance to The Forbidden City. It is flanked by The Great Hall of the People and the Chinese National Museum with the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong at the opposite end. The Monument to the People's Heroes stand in the centre. Two enormous group statues of revolutionaries stand on either side of the entrance to the mausoleum.

The square is now for pedestrians only and is visibly patrolled by police - uniformed and plain clothed. It is a lively place and photographers carrying computer printing equipment are more than willing to take your photograph and present you with a laminated product within minutes.

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Tiananmen Square is located in the centre of Beijing and is 880m from south to north and 500m from east to west. The square is surrounded by the Great Hall of the People, Chairman Mao Mausoleum, the National Museum and the Forbidden City.

The Great Hall of the People is located on the western side of the Tiananmen Square, and was built in 1959. It is the home of the “The Standing Committee of People’s Congress of China” (SCPCC). The National Museum was established in 2003, when the Museum of the Chinese Revolution and the National Museum of Chinese History was merged into the National Museum of China. In front of the building was a display with a countdown to the Beijing Olympics 2008. Read my other tips about Chairman Mao Mausoleum and the Forbidden City.

Tiananmen Square has been the site of a number of political events such as the student movement in 1989 (maybe you remember the historic photo of a man standing alone trying to block a line of tanks).

I enjoyed just watching all the local people on the square with their umbrellas and kites. There were many souvenir salesmen on Tiananmen Square, and they sold anything from postcards to ‘The Little Red Book’ by Chairman Mao.

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Tiananmen Square is located just opposite Forbidden City and it is the most central point in Beijing. Every sunrise and sunset, there is a spectacular flag ceremony not to be missed. As the morning ceremony is too early, I suggest you catch the flag lowering ceremony just before sunset. You will see a big crowd waiting for the ceremony so it's better to arrive a bit earlier to find a good spot. In most hotels, you will be informed about the ceremony times in the reception. After flag lowering ceremony, the square will be evacuated and no access will be allowed. After visiting Forbidden City, you can hang around in the area to watch the ceremony. I will also put a video about the ceremony.