Tiananmen, in the centre of Beijing, is an attraction in itself. The world's largest square may not be beautiful, but it is where Mao founded the People's Republic in 1949 and where hundreds were massacred 40 years later.
Set in front of the Forbidden City, surrounded by important buildings of the Communist Party and with Chairman Mao's mausoleum standing at its centre, Tian'anmen - Gate of Heavenly Peace - represents the core of both modern and ancient China. Lying at the centre of a nation of 1300 million people it is, however, slightly less spectacular than might be expected, as it was cleared and remodelled in the 1950s to mark the ascendancy of the Chinese Communist Party and to break with the past.
Tiananmen Square was also the site of the violently crushed 1989 pro-democracy rallies that saw thousands of casualties among the demonstrators and many more people imprisoned, an event that still scars the modern history of China. Moreover, it was here that alleged Falun Gong members immolated themselves, thereby provoking a major crackdown on the sect by the government.
Tiananmen Square was also the site of the violently crushed 1989 pro-democracy rallies that saw thousands of casualties among the demonstrators and many more people imprisoned, an event that still scars the modern history of China. Moreover, it was here that alleged Falun Gong members immolated themselves, thereby provoking a major crackdown on the sect by the government.
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