Tiananmen Gate

In front of you is Tiān'ānmén, “the Gate of Heavenly Peace”. It is not the entrance to the Forbidden City but to the Imperial City that surrounded it: the palace begins further north, behind two more gates.

1A gate rebuilt many times

It went up in 1417, under the Yongle Emperor, with the name “Gate of Receiving Heaven”. Lightning destroyed it in 1457, and the gate rebuilt in 1465 burned again in 1644, when Li Zicheng's rebels abandoned the city. The Qing rebuilt it in 1651 and gave it its present name. Between 1969 and 1970 it was completely dismantled and rebuilt with the same appearance, because the structure was damaged.

2Edicts and proclamations

Imperial edicts were read out from the top of the gate and then lowered in a box shaped like a golden phoenix. On 1 October 1949 Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic of China here, and the gate has featured on the national emblem ever since.

The square stretching to the south has been the stage for great moments of the 20th century, from the May Fourth student movement of 1919 to the gatherings and protests of 1976 and 1989.

Since 2024 the gate has been part of the Beijing Central Axis, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

3What to look for

• The two huabiao, marble columns carved with dragons and topped by a small beast.
• The five bridges over the Golden Water River; the central one was for the emperor.
• The banners on either side: “Long live the People's Republic of China” and “Long live the great unity of the peoples of the world”.