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TianAnMen Square

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Beijing, China

TianAnMen Square is a very large plaza at the center of Beijing, named after the TianAnMen Gate ('Gate of Heavenly Peace') which sits to its north, separating it from, and connecting it to, the Forbidden City.

TianAnMen Square One

TianAnMen Square Two

TianAnMen Square Three

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TianAnMen Square Five

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Tourists by TianAnMen Gate.

TianAnMen Square has great cultural significance because it was on the rostrum of TianAnMen Gate that Mao ZeDong declared the People's Republic of China on October 1st 1949. That is why a large portrait of Mao hangs from the rostrum of TianAnMen Gate.

Fountains in front of TianAnMen Gate.
TianAnMen Gate.

TianAnMen Square is 880 metres from north to south and 500 metres from east to west, with a total area of 440,000 square meters (44 Hectares). It is the largest open square in the world - considerably larger than Red Square in Moscow.

TianAnMen Gate.

The large, white marble, ornamental columns around Tian'AnMen Gate were constructed in 1420 as part of the Forbidden City's grand design. There are two columns in front of Tian'AnMen and two at the back. The columns are 9.6 meters high and weigh 20 tonnes each. On each column there is a plate called Cheng Lu Pan for collecting dew and a crouching animal called Hou.

One of the large marble columns in front of TianAnMen Gate.
One of the giant marble columns in front of TianAnMen Gate.

TianAnMen Gate close up.

Mao's portrait on TianAnMen Gate.

Below is a map showing the location of TianAnMen Square in relation to TianAnMen Gate, ChangAn avenue and the Forbidden City.

Location map of TianAnMen Square.
The blue dot shows the location of TianAnMen Dong subway station.

The following map shows the layout of Tian'AnMen Square and the places around it.

Map of TianAnMen Square.
TianAnMen Square Map.

Walking towards TianAnMen Square.
Walking along Chang'An Avenue towards TianAnMen Square.

History of TianAnMen Square

TianAnMen Gate (actually, 'Men' means 'Gate') was built in 1417 (Ming Dynasty), to complement the Forbidden City. In 1699 (early Qing Dynasty), the TianAnMen was renovated and given its current name.

During the Ming and Qing eras, there was no public square here - the area was filled with offices of the imperial ministries. These were badly damaged during the Boxer Rebellion and the area was cleared to produce the beginnings of TianAnMen Square.

Near the centre of today's square, close to the site of the Mao Zedong Mausoleum, once stood one of the most important gates in Beijing. This gate was known as the 'Great Ming Gate' during the Ming Dynasty, the 'Great Qing Gate' during the Qing Dynasty, and simply 'China Gate' during the Republic of China era.

Unlike the other gates in Beijing, such as TianAnMen and QianMen, this was a purely ceremonial gateway, with three arches but no ramparts, similar in style to the ceremonial gateways found in the Ming Dynasty Tombs.

However, this gate had a special status as the 'Gate of the Nation', as can be seen from its successive names. It normally remained closed, except when the Emperor passed through. Commoner traffic were diverted to two side gates at the western and eastern ends of today's square.

Because of this diversion in traffic, a busy marketplace, called 'ChessGrid Streets', developed in the small, fenced square to the south of this gate.

In the early 1950s, China Gate (as it was then known) was demolished along with the ChessGrid Streets to the south, completing the expansion of TianAnMen Square to its current size.

The new square was used for mass rallies during the Cultural Revolution.

TianAnMen Square was renovated just before the 50th anniversary of China in 1999.

TianAnMen Square is a focus for people from all over China both on International Labor Day on May 1 and National Day on October 1st (both are week long holidays in China).


TianAnMen Square Two
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