Tiananmen Square - Largest Public Square in the World

Overview of Tiananmen Square

Tiananmen Square (天安门广场) was first built in Ming Dynasty when Emperor Zhudi (朱棣) laid out the city of Beijing. It has been an imperial square enclosed by railings out the Forbidden Palace and civilians are forbidden to enter.

As more than 500 years passed, Tiananmen Square became a diamond in the crown of Beijing. It witnessed how Chinese people struggle against the feudal governance and foreign invaders for democracy and freedom. On 1st October 1949, Chairman Mao proclaimed the establishment of People’s Republic of China in Tiananmen Gate. Without any doubt, Tiananmen Square becomes a symbol of national cohesion and prosperity of China.

Layout & Construction

Occupying an area of 440,000 square meters and able to hold more than 1,000,000 people at the same time, Tiananmen Square stretches 880 m from north to south and 500 m from west to east. Monument to the People's Heroes is standing in the center of Tiananmen Square and Mao Zedong Memorial Hall is nearby. In northern Tiananmen Square is the ancient Tiananmen Tower which is constructed in 14 century while National Museum of China is in east square and Great Hall of the People west. Being magnificent and resplendent, the whole square presents a neatly symmetrical image.

Highlights of Tiananmen Square

Mao Zedong Memorial Hall

Mao Zedong Memorial Hall was built in 1977 to commemorate the founding leader Chairman Mao. It enjoys two floors. The first floor can be divided into three parts. In the Northern Hall, there is a lifelike white marble statue of Chairman Mao and an exquisite picture scroll of the beautiful lands in China. In the main hall, visitors can pay a view to the body of Chairman Mao. The great man lies in a crystal cabinet, draped in the flag of the Chinese Communist Party which is emblazoned with hammer and sickle. Chinese people show deep respect when faced with the physical presence of Chairman Mao. The Southern displays the literary achievements of the Chairman Mao. The second floor is equipped with 6 Revolutionary Performance Showroom of 6 great leaders including Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Liu Shaoqi (刘少奇), Zhu De (朱德), Deng Xiaoping (邓小平) and Chen Yun (陈云). By large amounts of detailed and accurate photos, documents and other material objects, the showrooms give an expression to the historical picture of how Chinese people make a revolution and build a new China.

National Museum of China

As a blend of collecting, displaying, research, archaeological studies, public education and cultural communication, National Museum of China is a comprehensive museum with an emphasis on Chinese art and history. It enjoys large scale, rich collections, and becomes one of the most popular museums in the world. Most charming collection is Ancient China Exhibition with 2026 cultural relics containing 521 fist level cultural relics. In the sequence of the changes of dynasties and focusing on cultural relics, the exhibition shows the endless stretches of Chinese civilization. The exhibition is made up of 8 parties according to different periods.

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Attraction around Tiananmen Square

Passing through Tiananmen Square, the magnificent imperial palace coming into your eyes is charming Forbidden City. Once forbidden but now permitted. It will be an enjoyable experience to visit a huge palace once built by the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It is a huge palace complex of more than 9,000 rooms where 24 emperors of Ming and Qing Dynasties used to live in. Pass across various doorways to admire the magnificent and well preserved buildings decorated with yellow glazed tile roof, white marble base and splendid colorful paintings. The cultural richness of china is truly reflected at this historical palace.

Get to Tiananmen Square – Location & Transportation

Tiananmen Square is at the city central axis of Beijing, just at the south of the Forbidden City. You can get there very conveniently by taxi, subway, bus, bicycle, and others. If you go by Beijing subway, you can take the Metro Line 1 to get off at Tiananmendong (天安门东) or Tiananmenxi (天安门西), or take the Metro Line 2 to get off at Qianmen (前门). And let’s see the distance to the hot attractions in Beijing as following.

• From the Forbidden City – about 1km, walking for 15 mins
• From the Temple of Heaven – about 4km, driving for 25 mins
• From the Summer Palace – about 18km, driving for 38 mins
• From the Badaling Great Wall – about 75km, driving for 1 hr & 50 mins

Warm Tips

• Getting up early (04:40~07:40 depends on seasons) ensures you to watch the flag raising ceremony at sunrise, performed by a troop of People’s Liberation Army soldiers drilled to march at precisely fixed paces per minute.
• Depending on the time of visiting, be ready for long queues through the security check before you can get to the square - but well worth the wait. There is another security check before entering Chairman Mao's Memorial Hall, so depositing your bag in advance is time-saving.
• Opening hours and admission fee for different attractions:

  Attractions	Opening Hours	Admission Fee
  Tiananmen Square	05:30-18:00	Free
  Great Hall of the People	08:15 - 15:00 (Spring) 07:30 - 16:00 (Summer) 08:30-15:00 (Autumn) 09:00-14:00 (Winter)	Free
  Mao Zedong Memorial Hall	08:00 - 12:00 (Tuesday - Sunday) 07:00 - 11:00 (July 1 - August 31)	Free
  National Museum of China	9:00 - 17:00 (Tuesday - Sunday)	Free

Ticket fee is for reference only. For up-to-date information, feel free to contact us.

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