Tian'anmen (Gate of Heavenly Peace)
is situated on the axis of Beijing City, and at the very center of it.
Tian'anmen faces the largest city center square in the world -- Tian'anmen
Square. And behind it sits the Forbidden City, in which the emperors of the Ming
and Qing dynasties (1368-1911) lived and which is also called the Palace Museum.
The Working People's Cultural Palace (originally the Ancestral Temple) stands on
its left, and Zhongshan Park (originally the Altar of Land and Grain) is on its
right.
On October 1, 1949, the grand State Founding
Ceremony of the People's Republic of China was held at Tian'anmen. Comrade Mao
Zedong declared the founding of the People's Republic of China augustly on the
Tian'anmen Gate Tower. Hence the Chinese people stood up. Tian'anmen symbolizes
the new China since then. The stately, strictly symmetrical figure of Tian'anmen
is part of the national emblem of China. After the People's Republic of China
was founded, all the large-scale pageants were held at Tian'anmen and Tian'anmen
Square. After several renovations, the Tian'anmen Gate was open to the public on
January 1, 1988.
Tian'anmen, originally built in
1417, was once the Main South Gate of the Imperial Palace of Ming and Qing
dynasties. It was called Chengtianmen (the Gate of Heavenly Succession) before
the renovation in 1651. It is 33.7 meters high. At the bottom, there is a white
marble high base with decorated moldings, on which lies a red frusta base of 10
meters high. The Tian'anmen Gate Tower stands on it. The whole structure is
splendid with the golden tiles and red walls adding to its stateliness and
grandeur. Above the middle gateway, there hangs a gigantic portrait of Mao
Zedong. The slogans Long live the People's Republic of China! and Long live the
unity of the people all over the world! are beside the portrait. In front of the
gate tower, there lies the Golden Water River, with 5 white marble bridges over
it. To the south of the bridge, there stand a pair of white marble ornamental
columns and a pair of stone lions. On the top of each white ornamental column
there is a cloud board carved with patterns of clouds and
dragons.