Tian'anmen Square is one of the largest city squares in the world. It is situated in the heart of Beijing. Tian'anmen was built in 1417 and was the entrance gate to the Forbidden City.
Now the square stretches 880 meters from north to south and 500 meters from east to west. The total area is 440,000 square meters. That's about the size of 60 soccer fields, spacious enough to accommodate half a million people.
Covering over forty hectares, Tian'anmen Square must rank as the greatest public square on earth. It's a modern creation, in a city that traditionally had no squares, as classical Chinese town planning did not allow for places where crowds could gather.
Tian'anmen only came into being when imperial offices were cleared from either side of the great processional way that led south from the palace to Qianmen and the Temple of Heaven.
The ancient north–south axis of the city was thus destroyed and the broad east–west thoroughfare, Chang'an Jie, that now carries millions of cyclists every day past the front of the Forbidden City, had the walls across its path removed.
Tian'anmen There is a hundred level stairway on the East and west sides, commonly known as the horse path, for the upper and lower towers.
2、天安门城台下有券门五阙,中间的券门最大,位于北京皇城中轴线上,过去只有皇帝才可以由此出入。
Under the platform of Tiananmen Square, there are five pavilions with the largest gate in the middle, which is located on the central axis of the imperial city of Beijing. In the past, only the emperor could go in and out from here.
Tian’an men( the Gate of Heavenly Peace), is located in the center of Beijing. It was first built in 1417 and named Chengtianmen( the Gate of Heavenly Succession). At the end of the Ming Dynasty, it was seriously damaged by war. When it was rebuilt under the Qing in 1651, it was renamed Tian’anmen, and served as the main entrance to the Imperial City, the administrative and residential quarters for court officials and retainers. The southern sections of the Imperial City wall still stand on both sides of the Gate. The tower at the top of the gate is nine-room wide and five –room deep. According to the Book of Changes, the two numbers nine and five, when combined, symbolize the supreme status of a sovereign.During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Tian’anmen was the place where state ceremonies took place. On October 1, 1949, chairman Mao Zedong proclaimed on Tian’anmen Rostrum the founding of the People’s Republic of China. Since then Tian’anmen has been the symbol of New Chine\a. Chairman Mao’s portrait is hung above the central entrance, flanked by two slogans:” Long Live the Great Unity of the Peoples of the World”. Today , the splendour of Tian’anmen attracts million of visitors from all over the world. The Rostrum on its top was opened in 1988 to the public for the first time in its history. It offers a panoramic view of the Square and the city proper. Tian’anmen Square has an area of 44 hectares( 109 acres) that can accommodate as many as one million people for public gatherings. It has witnessed may historical events in China’s modern history and is a place for celebrations on such festive days as international Labour Day on May 1st and national Day on October 1st. Around the Square are several famous buildings: 1. The Great Hall of the People 2. The Museum of Chinese History and the Museum of the Chinese Revolution 3. The Monument to the People’s Heroes 4. Chairman Mao’s Mausoleum Tian'anmen Square has now completed its renovation after eight months’ hard work to welcome the 50th anniversary of the People’s Republic in 1999.