Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
( Tian'anmen Guangchang;
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Tian ' anmen West, Tian ' anmen
East or Qianmen)
Flanked by stern 1950s Soviet-style buildings and ringed by
white perimeter fences, the world's largest public square (440,000 sq metres)
is an immense flatland of paving stones at the heart of Beijing.
Here one stands at the symbolic centre of the Chinese universe. Mao con-
ceived the square to project the enormity of the Communist Party, and during
the Cultural Revolution he reviewed parades of up to a million people here.
The 'Tian'anmen Incident', in 1976, is the term given to the near-riot in the
square that accompanied the death of Premier Zhou Enlai. Another million
people jammed the square to pay their last respects to Mao in the same year.
Most infamously, in 1989 the army forced prodemocracy demonstrators out of
the square.
DAVID GEE/ALAMY ©
Don't Miss
Clock Exhibition Hall
