[1] It is located south of Nanjing Road, a major shopping street, and north of People's Square.

With several major museums and Shanghai's main shopping street nearby, it is one of the top tourist destinations in the city.

When the People's Republic of China was founded on 1 October 1949, the new Chinese national flag was hung from the pole.

They were met by Jiang Zemin, then Communist Party Chief of Shanghai, and demanded democracy and radical political changes.

The number of attendees has also dwindled, and it is today far eclipsed by the nearby "blind date corner" or "marriage market".