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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.

(Source: chinaculture.org)