Tiananmen Square, the Square of the Gate of Heavenly Peace, is a vast open concrete expanse at the heart of modern Beijing. President Mao Zedong proclaimed the founding of the People’s Republic of China on 1 October 1949 in Tiananmen Square, where his huge portrait still remains. The Tiananmen Square is the largest square in the world.

Great Hall of the People

Seat of the Chinese legislature, the vast auditorium and banqueting halls are open for part of the day except when the National People’s Congress is in session.

Qian Men

Also called Zhengyang Men, this tower formed a double gate along with Jian Lou. It now houses a museum on the history of Beijing. Qian Men, consists of two towers, on the southern edge of Tiananmen Square, and Jian Lou just across Qian Men Dajie to the south. Zhengyang Men (Facing the Sun Gate) was the most imposing of the nine gates of the inner city wall that divided Beijing’s imperial quarters in the Forbidden City from the “Chinese City,” where, during the Qing dynasty, the Chinese inhabitants lived. Rising 131 ft, the gate stands on the north-south axis that runs through Tiananmen and the Forbidden City. Its museum has dioramas of the old city walls, and photographs of Beijing’s old streets.

Jian Lou or Arrow Tower, like Zhengyang Men, was first built in the Ming dynasty. The 125 ft high Jian Lou (Arrow Tower), originally built in 1439, has 94 windows that were used for shooting arrows. Both the Jian Lou and Zhengyang Men were badly damaged by fire during the Boxer Rebellion. In 1916, the enceinte, a semicircular wall that connected the two towers, was demolished to make way for a road. Jian Lou is now closed to the public.

Mao’s Mausoleum

Flanked by revolutionary statues, the building contains the embalmed body of President Mao. His casket, raised from its refrigerated chamber, is on view mornings and afternoons.

China National Museum

Built in 1959, this building was originally home to the Museum of Chinese History and the Museum of the Revolution, now merged. The same exhibits are on display (and the same propagandist lens). The halls also host exhibitions from other world class museums.

Monument to the People’s Heroes

Erected in 1958, the granite monument is decorated with bas-reliefs of episodes from China’s revolutionary history and calligraphy from Communist veterans Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai.

The national flag is raised at dawn and lowered at dusk every day.

Tiananmen Square Map

View Larger Map