Beijing China June 2001 - 23 photos - 1430 views

Trip to Beijing and tour the vast Tiananmen Square - Gate of Heavenly Peace. Built in 1417, the square is the largest open-urban square in the world, and is much larger than Russia's Red Square. With total area of 440,000 square meters, Tiananmen Square can hold one million people and the national flag is raised exactly at sunrise and lowered at sunset everyday by the soldiers. To see the flag-raising ceremony, you have to get up very early and arrive at the Square before sunrise. Only by doing so can you see the ceremony clearly as there are crowds of people attending the ceremony every day.  
 
Tiananmen Square is a must place to visit in Beijing City because of the wealth of surrounding historical sites. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Tiananmen was the place where state ceremonies took place and the most important one was the issuing of imperial edicts. The present Tiananmen Square has become a relaxing place for the common people to fly kites and walk.  
 
Next to the square is the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall (Mao's Mausoleum) and the Great Hall of the People. Don't forget to have a look at the Monument to the People’s Heroes, a tribute to those who have died fighting for working class Chinese in the Boxer Rebellion and the revolution. Click here to see the map of the area.