We set aside a day to visit Tiananmen Square and the other places of interest in the same area. The Raffles Hotel is situated a short distance from the square, so we also visited this area on the night we stayed at The Raffles and got a different view, as some of the buildings were illuminated. Tiananmen Square is the world's largest public square and covers an area of over 108 acres. The square is laid out in a rectangular shape with Front Gate to the south, the Great Hall of the People to the west, Chairman Mao's Memorial Hall in the middle and The Gate of Heavenly Peace to the north (heading a little further north leads to the south entrance of The Forbidden City).
Front Gate
Front Gate is situated to the South of Tiananmen Square and consists of two gates. The northernmost of the two, dates from the Ming Dynasty and was the largest of the nine gates of the inner city wall.
Front Gate is situated to the South of Tiananmen Square and consists of two gates. The northernmost of the two, dates from the Ming Dynasty and was the largest of the nine gates of the inner city wall.
Chairman Mao's Memorial Hall
Situated on the southern side of Tiananmen Square, Mao Zedong's mausoleum was constructed shortly after he died in 1976. For most patriotic Chinese, this is one of the obligatory places to visit and many Chinese from all over China make the pilgrimage each year. We had planned to go inside the mausoleum to view Mao Zedong, but when we arrived at Tiananmen Square that morning, there were literally thousands of people lined up, waiting to go inside. We estimated that the wait would over two hours and so we decided to give it a skip.
Situated on the southern side of Tiananmen Square, Mao Zedong's mausoleum was constructed shortly after he died in 1976. For most patriotic Chinese, this is one of the obligatory places to visit and many Chinese from all over China make the pilgrimage each year. We had planned to go inside the mausoleum to view Mao Zedong, but when we arrived at Tiananmen Square that morning, there were literally thousands of people lined up, waiting to go inside. We estimated that the wait would over two hours and so we decided to give it a skip.
Monument to the Peoples' Heroes
The Monument to the Peoples' Heroes is situated north of Mao Zedong's mausoleum. This monument bears bas-relief carvings of key patriotic and revolutionary events that have taken place, and also calligraphy from Mao Zedong and other communist leaders.
The Monument to the Peoples' Heroes is situated north of Mao Zedong's mausoleum. This monument bears bas-relief carvings of key patriotic and revolutionary events that have taken place, and also calligraphy from Mao Zedong and other communist leaders.
Great Hall of the People
The Great Hall of the People is the venue of the legislature, the National People's Congress. This Hall is closed to the public when the People's Congress is in session or a special event is taking place. We were hoping to tour this hall, but unfortunately for us, on the day that we were in the square it was closed due to Vladimir Putin's visit to Beijing.
The Great Hall of the People is the venue of the legislature, the National People's Congress. This Hall is closed to the public when the People's Congress is in session or a special event is taking place. We were hoping to tour this hall, but unfortunately for us, on the day that we were in the square it was closed due to Vladimir Putin's visit to Beijing.
China's National Grand Theatre
China's National Grand Theatre is situated to the right of The Great Hall of the People. The theatre's design has drawn some controversy, as people feel that it looks totally out-of-place in this part of Beijing.
China's National Grand Theatre is situated to the right of The Great Hall of the People. The theatre's design has drawn some controversy, as people feel that it looks totally out-of-place in this part of Beijing.
Tiananmen Square
We found Tiananmen Square to be a very safely guarded square with metal detectors and x-ray baggage scans at each entrance, closed circuit TV monitors in and around the square, and a very strong police presence. On the day that we visited the square it was busy, but it was relatively easy to move around freely. Good thing we timed it so that we weren't there during China's National Day celebrations (1st - 7th October), as we had heard that during this time, the Square is jam packed with thousands of people. Fortunately some of the decorations from the National Day celebrations were still on display in the square, which made the square look colourful and pretty.
We found Tiananmen Square to be a very safely guarded square with metal detectors and x-ray baggage scans at each entrance, closed circuit TV monitors in and around the square, and a very strong police presence. On the day that we visited the square it was busy, but it was relatively easy to move around freely. Good thing we timed it so that we weren't there during China's National Day celebrations (1st - 7th October), as we had heard that during this time, the Square is jam packed with thousands of people. Fortunately some of the decorations from the National Day celebrations were still on display in the square, which made the square look colourful and pretty.
Gate of Heavenly Peace
The Gate of Heavenly Peace is a national symbol and one that displays a portrait of communist leader Mao Zedong. It was from this gate that Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic on 1st October 1949. The gate was built in the 15th century and restored in the 17th century. This gate was the largest of the four gates of the Imperial City Wall. We passed through this gate so that we could could climb up to get views of Tiananmen Square and also so that we could enter The Forbidden City from the south gate.
The Gate of Heavenly Peace is a national symbol and one that displays a portrait of communist leader Mao Zedong. It was from this gate that Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic on 1st October 1949. The gate was built in the 15th century and restored in the 17th century. This gate was the largest of the four gates of the Imperial City Wall. We passed through this gate so that we could could climb up to get views of Tiananmen Square and also so that we could enter The Forbidden City from the south gate.
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