Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Fig. 2.6
From imperial square to people's square at the Tian-an Men, Beijing
establishment of New China took place there. An important reason for this was that
Tian-an Men Square was the site of the outbreak of the May 4th Movement of 1919,
which set the stage for the New Democratic Revolution. Thus it is one of the places
in Beijing's Old City with an honored revolutionary tradition.
The Tian-an Men, which stands above the square, expresses the full talent and
intelligence of China's working people in the art of construction. It could be consid-
ered a masterpiece among the ancient structures of Beijing. As for the red walls on
the east, west, and south sides of the square, they still obstructed the movement of
people and were actually a public nuisance. Therefore, on the tenth anniversary of
the founding of the nation, the red walls surrounding the square were totally demol-
ished, and a new square appeared which was several times larger than the old one.
On the west and east sides of the square, two modern buildings were constructed.
On the west arose the Great Hall of the People, and on the east was built the struc-
ture containing the Museum of Chinese History and the Museum of Chinese
Revolution. In the center of the square stands the Monument to the People's Heroes.
On the eve of the 30th anniversary of the revolution, the Memorial Hall of Chairman
Mao was built on the south side of square, just inside the Zheng-yang Gate. The
transformation of Tian-an Men Square to the center of political activity was essen-
tially complete. Although its location remains the same, its nature and function have
totally changed, and it has an entirely new appearance (see Fig.
2.6
).
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The actual work, of course, was not without problems. For instance, in the cases of the demolition
of the old city wall and most of the old gates and the fi lling of the moat, there was serious disagree-
ment in the beginning. From today's point of view, these are simply irretrievably lost.
