Tiananmen Square

Outside China, the square is best known for the 1989 protests and massacre that ended with a military crackdown due to international media coverage, internet and global connectivity, its political implications, and other factors.

Because of this diversion in traffic, a busy marketplace, called "Chess Grid Streets", was developed in the large fenced square to the south of this gate.

The Xianfeng Emperor eventually agreed to let Western powers barrack troops – and later establish diplomatic missions – in the area, hence there was the Legation Quarter immediately to the east of the square.

When the forces of the Eight-Nation Alliance besieged Beijing during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, they badly damaged the office complexes and burnt down several ministries.

[citation needed] In Beijing, Tiananmen was re-developed from an insular imperial quarter to a larger public space viewed as consistent socialist political.

[11] For the first decade of the PRC, each National Day (October 1) was marked by a large military parade in Tiananmen Square, in conscious emulation of the annual Soviet celebrations of the Bolshevik Revolution.

[citation needed] In 1971, large portraits of Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, Sun Yat-sen, and Mao Zedong were erected in the square, painted by artist Ge Xiaoguang, who is also responsible for producing the famous portrait of Mao that hangs over the Gate of Heavenly Peace.

The aftermath of the Tiananmen Square massacre prevented any such activities in October 1989, but military parades have been held in 1999 and 2009, on the 50th and 60th anniversaries of the PRC's founding.

[13][14] Following the crackdown, many of the student leaders escaped to the United States with the help of foreign intelligence agencies and other parties through Operation Yellowbird.

[11] Used as a venue for mass gatherings since its creation, its flatness is contrasted by both the 38-meter (125 ft)-high "Monument to the People's Heroes" and the "Mausoleum of Mao Zedong".

In 2023, police detained over 20 people, including Activist Alexandra Wong, on the 34th anniversary of the bloody Tiananmen Square crackdown for "breaching the peace".

Tiananmen Square during Qing Dynasty , viewed from Zhengyangmen Gate (Qianmen Gate) with the Gate of China, later removed in 1954 to make room for the present-day Mao Zedong Mausoleum . The "corridor of a thousand steps" is visible (behind the Gate of China) and Tiananmen Gate is in the distance.
Tiananmen Square during the May Fourth movement in 1919
(video) Two shots of the namesake gate to the north followed by a shot of inside Tiananmen Square in 2017
1967 satellite image of Tiananmen Square with the Tian'anmen gate to the north. Further work on the square was carried out in the 1970s to extend the open plaza by demolishing the buildings immediately to the south of the square.
Security cameras at Tiananmen Square
National Museum of China Chang'an Avenue Monument to the People's Heroes West Chang'an Avenue East Chang'an Avenue Mausoleum of Mao Zedong Great Hall of the People National Center for the Performing Arts Tiananmen Square Huabiao Huabiao Tiananmen (Gate Tower)
Panorama image map of Tiananmen Square from the north atop Tiananmen 's gate tower, showing the square beyond Chang'an Avenue , the Monument to the People's Heroes and Chairman Mao Memorial Hall (background center), the National Museum of China (on the left), and Great Hall of the People (on the right) ( mouse over for labels )