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 Introduction
The Tiananmen square is located at the heart of Beijing, the capital of
China. It is an enormous space of approximately 880m to 500m,
constructed south of the Tiananmen, also called the gate of heavenly
peace, separating it from the forbidden city. After a couple of
reconstructions, the square has served as an important place of historical
events such as political measures and student protests.

Construction
The Tiananmen, which is actually the north gate of the imperial city, was
constructed in 1415 during the Ming Dynasty under the reign of emperor
Chengzu. The square in front of it was only constructed in 1651 after the
fight between Li Zichengs rebel forces and the Manchy-led qing dynasty
forces, which caused heavy damage to the gate.
As Tiananmen was the north gate of the imperial city, the southern gate
was called Great Ming Gate, Great Qing Gate, and later the Gate of
China. The southern gate only had a ceremonial function for when the
emperor passed through. Nevertheless, it was seen as the Gate of the
Nation. After its destruction in 1954, it was possible to enlarge the
Tiananmen square 4 times its original size. The expansion started in
November 1958 during the reign of Mao Zedong, whom wished to make it
the largest and most spectacular square in the world.
At the south side of the Square, there lies the Zhengyangmen gate, which
is still an significant geographical symbol of the city, even though much of
Beijings city walls have been destroyed. At the east side of the square,
there is the Chinese National Museum, formerly the Chinese Museum of
Revolutionary History. At the west side of the Tiananmen square, the Great
Hall of the People is located, which is intended for legislative and official
events of PRC 1government. These two important monuments were built
in 1958, at the same time as the expansion as the Tiananmen Square.
They were a part of the Ten Great Constructions realized for the tenth
anniversary of the PRC. (China, 2017)
The Mausoleum (of Mao Zedong), also known as the Chairman Moa
Memorial Hall, is the ultimate resting area of Mao Zedong. It was built
after his dead in 1976, in the middle of Tiananmen Square. Nowadays it is
a widely-visited attraction. (Mausoleum of Mao Zedong, 2017)
At the Tiananmen gate, there is a portrait of Mao, which looks at the
Square. Each year, they replace the portrait with a new one. The portrait
also contains, 2 phrases: long live the Chinese peoples republic and long
live the great unity of the worlds peoples (Tiananmen Square, 2017).

1 The Peoples Republic of China (PRC)

Historic Events
The Tiananmen square has been an important place for numerous political
events and protests of students.
1919
The May Fourth Movement is a political and cultural undertaking of
students whom participated at a protest against the governments
unconvincing reply to the Treaty of Versailles. Furthermore, they were mad
that the government allowed Japan to obtain territory in Shandong, that
had been previously surrendered by Germany. They didnt understand
why one occupier would take the place of another.
1949
On the first of October 1949, Mao first waved to thousands of people in
the square since it was the celebration of the founding of the Peoples
Republic and the final demise of the nationalist under Chiang Kai-shek.
10 years later, these numbers had increased to hundreds of thousands of
people comparing to the first proclamation of the PRC.
1976
The Tiananmen Incident took place in April 1976, at the traditional day of
mourning. After the death of premier Zhou Enlai, a widely respected
Chinese leader, people were frustrated that the displays of mourning were
removed. Therefore, they began gathering at the square in order to
protest against the authorities. The Gang of four, which are Zhous four
most powerful antagonists, ordered 13 000 police officers to clear the
square.
1989
However, the worst night in the history
of the Tiananmen square was that of
3/ 4 June 1989, better known as the
June Forth Incident. Following the
frustrations of students, concerning
the economics and social development
in post-Mao China, they protested with
hundreds of thousands of people at
Tiananmen square. They were unsatisfied Figure 2017)
1: (Tiananmen Square, 1989,

with the one party political system,

inflation, restrictions on political participation, . Students wanted a
China where they had freedom of speech and press, a democracy and
more accountability. Ultimately, the dead of Hu Yaobaug, a valued
individual, sparked it off, just as in 1976.
The most famous image from that protest is probably the one shown right
above. A man is standing in front of military tanks refusing to move. One
the one hand, this illustrates that people were trying to stand up for
themselves, in order to fight for what they believed in. On the other hand,
this clearly shows the violent policy of the Chinese government in order to
supress these protests. Although, there are no official numbers, it is
estimated that thousands of people have died while protesting at
Tiananmen Square. (Tiananmen, 2017)

Conclusion
The large Tiananmen Square has had many political events on it territory.
From Maos first proclamation of the Peoples Republic of China to a
battlefield of students protesting for more democracy. With its rich culture
and political history, it is an interesting place to visit.

Table of Figures
Figure 1: (Tiananmen Square, 1989, 2017)2

Bibliography
China. (2017, April 9). Retrieved from Travelguide:
https://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/beijing/tiananmen/faqs.
htm
Mausoleum of Mao Zedong. (2017, April 10). Retrieved from Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mausoleum_of_Mao_Zedong
Tiananmen. (2017, April 9). Retrieved from Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiananmen
Tiananmen Square. (2017, April 9). Retrieved from History today:
http://www.historytoday.com/neil-taylor/tiananmen-square
Tiananmen Square, 1989. (2017, April 10). Retrieved from History State:
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1989-1992/tiananmen-square