Walking to Tiananmen Square (Gate of Heavenly Peace) from the Meridian Gate of the Forbidden City (Palace Museum), Beijing.

We passed by a Souvenirs Store but unfortunately we had to move on cos of the limited time given by our tour guide Wang Jing.

We soon came upon the Tiananmen Gate (back view), which was built in 1417 during the Ming Dynasty as an Entrance to the Imperial Palace, the Forbidden City. It was called the Gate of Heavenly Succession (“Chentianmen” in Chinese). After it was destroyed by fire, the present Gate was built in 1651 & given its present name Tiananmen Gate, the Gate of Heavenly Peace.

Tiananmen Gate is 34.7 metres high, with 9 intercolumniations (or spaces between the columns) from East to West, & 5 intercolumniations from North to South. According to traditional Yin Yang Theory, the numbers 9 & 5, when put together, was a way to indicate supremacy. This architectural style was used exclusively for Imperial Palace, as the “Gate of the Nation”.

In the past, whenever an Emperor made a new law, the Imperial Edict was written down & placed in a gilded box in the shape of a Phoenix. The actual scroll was placed in the mouth of the Phoenix. Then the Phoenix box was lowered down from the top of the Gate to the Officials waiting below. Once a year, when the Emperor went to the Temple of Heaven to offer sacrifices to the Gods & Ancestors, he & his party left the Palace via the Gate. And in times of War, the Imperial Guards would march out to battle through the Gate of Heavenly Peace.

If you look closely at both the left & right sides of the Tiananmen Gate in the above photo, you will see a tall white Pillar on each side (hidden by the trees). Made of white marble, these Pillars are the Huabiao Ornamental Pillars, & there’re also a set of them behind the Tiananmen Gate. Dragons are carved into these columns & at the top a life-size stone animal keeps watch.

These Pillars were erected in 1420 as part of the Forbidden City’s grand design during the Ming Dynasty, & they’re 9.6 metres high & weigh 20 tonnes each. The animal on top of these columns faces outward towards the Gate admonishing the Emperor to, at times, leave his Palace & go out among the commom people to better understand them. These Pillars are called “Wangjunchu” translated as “Expecting his Majesty to go on inspection”.

The 2 Pillars outside the Tiananmen Gate are called “Wangjungui” with the animal facing inward looking towards the Gate, translated as “Looking forward to the Emperor’s return”. These were supposed to be reminders to the Emperor that, after he enjoyed touring his realm, to return to the Palace to attend to the affairs of the government.

We’ve now passed through the Tiananmen Gate & infront of us are the 7 Bridges called the Golden Water Bridges.

I took photos of some of the Chinese Liberation Army (PLA) Guards who were infront of the Bridges.

Now walking on the Central Bridge (with more PLA Guards on it), which was reserved only for the use of the Ming & Qing Emperors in the ancient time. The other 6 Bridges also had specific uses eg. Wanggong Bridge was for the Royal Family, the Pinji Bridge was for Civil & Military Officials, & the Gongshen Bridge was for Minor Officials.

While crossing the Bridge, I turned my head around & had my very 1st glimpse of the grand Tiananmen Gate!

The long-awaited day was finally here! Having heard so much & seeing the Tiananmen Gate so many times on TV, I’ve always wanted to personally come visit it & this day I made it – I was so happy!!

Infront of the Tiananmen Gate I saw the huge vast Tiananmen Square (“Tiananmen Guangchang” in Chinese).

Above shows view of the Tiananmen Gate with the 7 Golden Water Bridges infront of it.

In the past, every traditional Chinese home had a small Courtyard infront of the main building. And of course the Courtyard of the Imperial Family had to be much larger. In the Tang Dynasty, more than 1000 years ago, the first open space was cleared infront of the main Entrance. Later it was converted into the “Thousand Step Long Walkway”. When the Capital of the Yuan Dynasty was moved to Beijing, the Square took on the same shape that it has now, but it was still much smaller. During the Ming Dynasty, the Square was enclosed by red walls, with gates on both the Eastern & Western sides, & the ground paved with slabs of stone.

In 1949, major renovation work began at the Tiananmen Square, & 3 subsequent renovation projects in 1958, 1976 & 1981, as well as new renovations just before the 50th Anniversary of China in 1999, have transformed the Square into the major Landmark it is today. Tiananmen Square now stretches 880 metres from North to South, & 500 metres from East to West, making a total area of 440000 square metres – that’s about the size of 60 soccer fields!!!

There were a couple of white marble Lions (Male & Female) guarding the Tiananmen Gate – the one we see in the above photo is the Male Lion, which had his right paw stepping on a Ball, synifying the Pearl which symbolizes Blessings & Protection. Lions were used as Symbols of Defence & Protection, guarding the building & keeping the people within safe from wicked spirits & intruders.

Tiananmen Square is one of the largest City Centre Squares in the world, considerably larger than the Red Square in Moscow. In the past, the most important use of the Square was to declare in a big ceremony to the common people who became the Emperor, & who became the Empress. Until 1921 when the last Feudal Kingdom was over, no one could enter the Tower of the Gate except for Aristocrats.

The 2 Red Signs on the Tiananmen Gate says :”Long live the People’s Republic of China” & “Long live the Great Union of the People of the World”. And the huge Portrait of Mao ZeDong hangs from the rostrum of the Gate.

If Beijing is the Centre of the Chinese Universe, then Tiananmen Square is its Heart! The 4th Demonstrations in 1919 against the Treaty of Versailles took place at the Tiananmen Square. So did the Anti-Japanese Protests in 1935. In 1949, the People’s Republic of China was founded & it was here from the rostrum of the Tiananmen Gate, on Oct 1st in 1949, that Mao ZeDong declared the Foundation of the People’s Republic of China to an audience of 1 million adoring revolutionaries & it was here that he led the mass rallies of Cultural Revolution. And it was here again, that another million people gathered to mourn the Graet Helmsman’s death in 1976. The 1989 Student Demonstration also took place here at the Tiananmen Square!

Tiananmen Square is a Centre of Power & Politics & today, people come here to relax, or to fly kites in the large vast Sqaure. Today, Tiananmen Square is a focus for people from all over China both on International Labour Day on May 1, & China National Day on Oct 1 (both week long holidays in China).

Dear & I infront of the majestic Tiananmen Gate!

A close-up view of the huge Portrait of Mao ZeDong.

It was a pity we had very limited time on the Tiananmen Square cos we were rushing off to see the night’s Arobatic Show, that we did not have any chance to stop to visit any Souvenirs store. Luckily I managed to find the following Mao ZeDong Souvenir Magnets 3 days later at a shopping mal! Bought 2 of them – 1 for myself & 1 for my Godmum who’s become a lover of Souvenir Magnets cos of my influence & she loves China too!!

Chairman Mao ZeDong (Mao Tse-Tung), the Founder of Communist China, was born in rural Hunan Province in 1893 & died in Beijing in 1976 of Motor Neurone Disease.

And I was really delighted when I happened to see this beautiful Tiananmen Square replica at the same shopping mall where I got the Mao ZeDong Souvenir Magnets!! I fell in love with it straight away!!

I also managed to purchase the following Tiananmen Square Souvenir Magnets from the same mall :

Below photo shows view of the granite Monument to the People’s Heroes, & behind it the Memorial Hall (Mausoleum) of Mao ZeDong, at the Centre of the Tiananmen Square, directly upon the Central axis of the old Imperial Palace, the Forbidden City.

Let me first talk about the Monument to People’s Heroes. The largest Monument in China’s history, it was built to commemorate the soldiers who died fighting in the Revolution. Construction of the Monument began in 1952, & it was completed 6 years later in 1958, at almost 38 metres high.

Two inscriptions in gilded characters decorate the body of the Monument. There’s a message from the late Premier Zhou Enlai on the side facing South. It reads : “Eternal Glory to the Heroes of the People, those who died during the last 3 years of the War of Liberation, & during the past 3 decades of Revolution! Eternal Glory to the Heroes of the People, those who died in the struggles against Foreign & Domestic enemies for National Independence, & for the People’s Freedom & Happiness from 1840 on!” There’s also another message written by Chairman Mao ZeDong which reads : “The Heroes of the People are Immortal!”

The base of the Monument is decorated with 10 bas-relief carvings, depicting chronological events during the revolutionary period from 1940 to 1949. The sequence begins on the Eastern side & moves clockwise around the base. Events shown on the carvings are as follows :

Destruction of Opium at Humen in Guangdong Province from 1839- 1842. Jintai Uprising in Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in Guangxi from 1851-1864. On the next side facing South we see the 1911 Revolution in Hubei Province, the May 4th Movement in Beijing in 1919 & the 30th Movement in Shanghai in 1925. The Pictures to the West are the Nanchang Uprising in Jiangxi in 1927 & the War of Resistance against Japan from 1937-1945. On the last side we see Grain for the Front; the Successful Crossing of the Yangtze River in 1949, & last but not least, a Picture entitled “Long Live the Liberation Army!!”.

See the Flag poll on the right of the above photo : the Chinese Flag is raised or lowered by a squad of PLA (People’s Liberation Army) personnel marching up & down, drilled to perform at 108 paces per minute, at every sunrise & sunset. All the traffic on the busy Chang An Avenue (meaning “Long Peace Avenue” in Chinese), the road infront of Tiananmen Square, is halted, & about 30 PLA soldiers march very ceremoniously across the Road & the Flag is hoisted up, or down the Poll. Huge crowds will gather to watch the PLA guard-of-honor raising or lowering the Flag daily (Unfortunately we did not get the chance to do so cos of time constraints). When important foreign guests are in town, the Visitor’s National Flag will be flown along with the Chinese Flag.

Above is the 5-Star Red Chinese National Flag. At the ceremony marking the birth of the People’s Republic of China on 1 Oct 1949, the National Flag & Emblem made their 1st appearance & the Chinese people sang their National Anthem for the 1st time! Five Gold Stars rest in the upper left corner of the Flag on a Red background - the Red color stands for the Revolution while the Gold color of the Stars signifies the Dawn of a New Era over the Land. The Five Stars grouped together symbolize the Unity of the Chinese People under the Leadership of the Chinese Communist Party.

On 1 Oct 1949, Chairman Mao ZeDong raised the new Flag over Tiananmen Square. At 3pm, with 300000 people watching, Mao ZeDong pressed the button on the Flag pole, & the Red Flag with its Five Stars ascended over Beijing for the 1st time.

On the morning of 28 Dec 1982, 96 honor Guards raised the Flag for 2 minutes & 7 seconds – the same amount it takes for the sun to rise & set. The number 96 also has some symbolic meaning as the territory of China is of 9.6 million square km. Even the 56 poles in the balustrade around the base of the Flag have a special meaning – they represent the 56 different ethnic nationalities living within China’s borders.

China’s National Anthem is “The March of Volunteers”. The Song was originally written in 1935 as the theme Song for a film “Sons & Daughters of the Storm”. The Song urged people to join the National Resistance Movement against the Japanese in World War II -”Arise, ye who refuse to be Slaves! With our Flesh & Blood, let us Build our New Great Wall!”. The Song immediately swept the nation, & in September 1949, it was adopted as the Anthem. In 1982, “The March of the Volunteers” was officially named National Anthem of China by the National People’s Congress.

Now, let’s introduce to you the Memorial Hall (Mausoleum) of Chairman Mao ZeDong, which is behind the Monument to People’s Heroes. Lying on the South side of the Tiananmen Square, construction work began in 1976 after the death of the Chinese Leader Mao ZeDong, & it was completed a year later in 1977.

While Chairman Mao was still alive, he was one of the high-ranking officials to sign up for cremation, a procedure that was shunned by the superstitiuos Chinese. However, the people wanted to honor the Man for all he had done to help the People’s Republic & they felt it was only right to put his remains in a Memorial Hall.

The Memorial Hall is 260 metres long from North to South, 220 metres wide from East to West, & 33.6 metres high. And the remains of Mao ZeDong are displayed in a Crystal casket in the Viewing Hall, which is mechanically raised from a Freezer for public viewing during the day, & then lowered at night. It’s free to enter the Memorial Hall but again, we did not have ample time to visit it too!

Notice the many Lamp Posts around the Tiananmen Square – these Lamp Posts are all equipped with an array of speakers which can convert messages to a crowd of tens of thousands of people! 

We left the Tiananmen Gate very soon & walked past the below board showing the Tiananmen Square Map. As the photo taken is pretty blur, I’ve enclosed another Map of the Tiananmen Square below - hopefully it’s clear enough.

We’re now walking into the underground tunnel :

We’ve now crossed to the opposite East side of the Tiananmen Gate.  

On the Eastern side of the Tiananmen Square now - walking on a pavement under a long stretch of shady trees (willow trees etc) over our heads – very cooling & pleasant if not for our rather rush timing!

We soon had good view of the Parliament of China – the Great Hall of the People, on the Western side of the Tiananmen Square, seen here to the right of the Mounment to People’s Heroes.

One of the “10 Great Constructions” built to commemorate the 10th Anniversary of the People’s Republic of China & opened in 1959, the Soviet-designed Great Hall of People is the site of the China National People’s Congress meetings, & other Political & Diplomatic activitiesm, & sometimes Artistic performances too! With an area of 171800 square metres, the Hall has 3 parts – the Central Hall, the Great Auditorium (which can seat 10000), & the Banqueting Hall (with 5000 seats). In March every year, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (SCPPC) & the National People’s Congress (NPS) meet in a 2-3 week long sitting in the Great Auditorium, which is televised live each day. 

View of the Monument to People’s Heroes & the Memorial Hall (Mausoleum) of Chairman Mao ZeDong behind the Moneument shown below :

More views of the Tiananmen Gate from where we were walking :

We soon came upon the National Museum of China. Opened only in 2003 as another of the “10 Great Constructions” to commemorate the 10th Anniversary of People’s Republic of China, it’s a combination of the Chinese History Museum & the Chinese Revolutionary Museum.

Situated in the Eastern side of the Tiananmen Square & facing the Great Hall of People, the Chinese History Museum shows a large number of cultural relics illustrating the long history & glorious culture of China, from 1700000 years ago to 1921, when the last Emperor left the Throne.

And the Chinese Revolutionary Museum holds a lot of material objects, pictures, books & models to present the development of Modern China from 150 years ago.

Too bad the Museums were closed due to renovation work so we’ve to be just contented with photos of/with them.

Dear with me standing infront of the National Museum of China :

See the Beijing 2008 Olympics Countdown Clock infront of the National Museum of China : it was counting down to the actual day of the Olympics (8 Aug 2008) & our tourmate Uncle noticed that it was 88 days to the countdown on the day we were there! The number 8 being a Lucky number to the Chinese, we all quickly took photos of/with the Signboard!!!

Cutie me pointing to the Olympics Countdown Clock behind me :

Dear being an Olympics Fan was very eager to have his photo taken with the lucky Countdown Clock too!!

Loving couple of Dear hugging me, with the Great Hall of People across the road behind us :

After being satisfied with the photos taken infront of the National Museum of China, we continued walking towards the end of the shaded pavement.

Along the way, we saw the Tiananmen Sculptures of Workers, Peasants & Soldiers across the road infront of the Memorial Hall of Mao ZeDong, in the Centre of Tiananmen Square.

No wonder I found the Sulptures so so familiar, cos I’ve seen it with my Mom & Dad, taken many many years ago during their travelling. And I’ve still always thought that the place was somewhere in Europe!!

The photos of Mom & Dad with the Scuptures of Workers, Peasants & Soldiers below, though I notice there’re some changes to the Sculptures since then till now : 

We next passed by the Bags Check Building located opposite the Memorial Hall of Mao ZeDong – All visitors’ bags are to be checked before one is allowed to enter the Memorial Hall. 

The Memorial Hall of Mao ZeDong as seen below as we were walking along the Eastern side of the Tiananmen Square :

2 policemen on patrol whom we met on the pavement.

And see the 2 Chinese style roofed buildings across the road – they’re the Front Gate or ZhengYang Gate (or “Qianmen” or “Zhengyangmen” in Chinese), & the Archery Tower (“Jianlou” in Chinese).  

Located on the Southern end of Tiananmen Square & built in 1421, the 42 metres tall Zhengyang Gate was the Front Entrance to the Old Imperial Palace, the Forbidden City, during the Ming & Qing Dynasties. It was the largest of all City Gates in the old Beijing City then!

And the smaller Archery Tower (Jianlou) behind the Zhengyang Gate was built in 1439, meant to be a Watchtower as part of the Forbidden City’s double-gate defense works.

While crossing the road, I saw this Interesting vehicle shaped like the Thai Tut Tut but in much smaller size, so cute :

A Bus Stop by the roadside :

We next saw a beautiful Victorian-styled building & wondered what that is, which our tour guide Wang Jing told us it’s actually the Qianmen Old Train Station or Tiananmen Station. Visitors to the Tiananmen Square can actually take the train to this Station & walk from the Tiananmen East or Tiananmen West exits & walk to the Tiananmen Square, which we just did (only the opposite way)!

just before the Tiananmen Old Train Station, there was a lady selling kites! How interesting the way she was selling her kites cos she was actually flying them in the air!

I wished then I could take the strings of those Kites from her so that I could fly them too!! I remembered my eldest sister used to bring me to fly kites in the open vast green fields of the Singapore Marina Park when I was very young – & those were really really fond memories!

After a pretty long walk from the Tiananmen Square & enjoying the various historical buildings surrounding it, we’ve finally arrived at our destination - the carpark where we were supposed to meet our Chinese driver Sifu to take his van to our night’s Arobatic Show.

There were beautiful fresh flowers by the side of the carpark, & a Beijing Roastduck Restaurant. Hmm….so far we’ve still not tasted the Beijing Roast Duck since we arrived here in Beijing, we told Wang Jing!

There were packets of Roast Duck on sales at the Roast Duck Restaurant Store. Yum Yum, I was tempted to buy some to bring back home to Singapore cos I remembered the good delicious tasty Salted Duck which Mom & Dad got me from Shanghai recently! However, Sifu suddenly appeared so we had to go off in his Van, but Wang Jing promised to bring me to buy them before we left Beijing )