Beijing Tiananmen Square

Beijing Tiananmen Square is the largest square in the world, where the five-star flag is raised at dawn, and lowered at sunset everyday. Standing at the Tiananmen Gate tower, you will have a nice view of the splendid and magnificent square.

Beijing Tiananmen Square is a modern creation, China being a land where large public gathering places were not traditionally built. Its construction broke down walls of the Forbidden City to make way for the large thoroughfare, Chang'an Jie. Previously Tiananmen Square was occupied by imperial offices, which were inside the Forbidden City and connected the Temple of Heaven to Qianmen and the palace.

Tiananmen (translated from Chinese: The Gate of Heavenly Peace) is the original gate of the Imperial Palace, commonly known as the Forbidden City. It is now one of the entrances for tourists visiting the Forbidden City.

Built and burned down a few times starting in 1417, its recent incarnation dates to 1651. Today it is a world recognized symbol of where Mao Zedong (Mao Tse-tung) declared the foundation the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949.

Other momentous events at Tiananmen Square China include the rallies launching the Cultural Revolution in 1966, the deaths of Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai in 1976 when millions of mourners packed the square, and 1989 when student protestors occupied the square for nearly two months while the world watched the events unfold on TV's in their living rooms.