by Wu Runmei
photo by Lu Yan & Lu Gang

Everyone in China knows Tian'anmen. It is the heart of the country. More
than 100,000 people converge to this place, mostly to snap pictures of the
rostrum, where New China was born.

They may stroll on the square for a short while. Then they go directly to
the Forbidden City. What a pity that so many visitors pay less attention to
the magnificent square!

The square is decorated with several groups of architecture. In them, one
can see evidence of China's ancient charm and modern achievements.

The rostrums and arrow tower trace back to the 15th century. The year 1420 is remembered for the birth of the Tian'anmen square. At that time the square was much smaller and in a shape of "T."

Since then the square has undergone many changes. The only marks left of that time are Tian'anmen rostrum and Qianmen rostrum and its arrow tower. They were all completed in that very year and look basically the same as when they were built.

The 34.7-meter tall Tian'anmen rostrum can be divided into three parts: the tower, the platform and the base. The tower on the very top is nine columns wide and five rooms deep. Its roofs are covered with golden tiles.

The tower has been burnt down and then rebuilt several times in history.
During its latest reconstruction, carried out in 1970, the tower's 60
columns were changed to huge trunks, which were imported from Canada.

The tower is built on a 13-meter tall ocher platform. Specially-made blocks
weighing 24 kilograms each were used to build the platform.

A 1.59-meter tall marble base is the lowest part of the rostrum. Unlike the
tower, which has been repaired a lot over the years, the platform and
marble base are much the same as they were 568 years ago.

The rostrum has five arched gates. The highest one is in the middle and was
used in ancient times as the special entrance for nobody but the emperors.

There are five marble bridges in front of the five gates. Dragons were
carved on the middle bridge, which, again, could be used only by emperors.

Two pairs of ornamental pillars stand in front and behind the rostrum. Each
pillar, entwined by a divine dragon engraved in relief, carries a plate on
top, on which squats an animal called "Hou." This creature in Chinese
mythology is supposed to be born of the dragon and good at keeping watch.

The four "hou" have different names. The two in front of the rostrum face south with their backs to the wall. They are called "wangjungui" (looking out for the emperor's return). It is said their duty is to watch over the emperor's excursions and call him back if he was too long absent from the palace.

The couple behind the rostrum facing north are called "wangjunchu" (looking
out for the emperor's progress,) and their job was to supervise how the
emperor behaved in the imperial palace. If he should indulge himself and
neglect court affairs, the kong would remind him of his duties and tell him
it was time to go out among the people.

Qianmen rostrum is located at the far southern edge of the square. This
"front gate" rostrum has three eaves and is taller than Tian'anmen rostrum.

The 42-meter-tall rostrum used to be the highest architecture of the city.
It was the front gate of the inner city and thus was called "the national
gate." In the past, there were city walls linking nine gates of the inner
city. An arrow tower was built in front of each gate. After the city walls
were pulled down, many city gates and their arrow towers were torn down as
well.

However, Qianmen and its arrow tower are preserved. Qianmen's arrow tower
is a gray building with green eaves. It was built purely for military use.
The tower has four lines of windows where archers shooting at invaders
could take advantage of the much higher position. Adding up the number of
windows on both sides of the building, altogether there are 94 arrow
windows on the tower.

In 1959, on the 10th anniversary of the People's Republic of China,
Tian'anmen Square experienced its greatest changes since its birth.

The small T-shaped square was enlarged to become the largest square in the
world, covering 440,000 square meters and able to contain 1 million people
at the same time.

Apart from its ancient buildings, five newcomers settled down at the center
or on the edges of the square, one after another.

Among the five new buildings, the monument was the first. It was completed in April 1958. The mon ment is 37.94 meters high. In front of the monument is the gold-plated inscription "Eternal Glory to the People's Heroes" by Chairman Mao Zedong.

On its four sides are eight relief marble carvings, portraying events of major historical importance from 1840 to 1949: The burning of opium at Humen in 1840. The Jintian peasant uprising of the Kingdom of Heavenly Peace in the 1851, near the end of the Qing Dynasty. The Wuchang Armed Uprising led by Dr. Sun Yat-sen in 1911. The Beijing student movement of
May 4, 1919. The anti-imperialist May 30 workers' movement of 1925. The August 1 Nanchang Uprising in 1927, that marked the official start of the armed struggle led by the Communist Party. The anti-Japanese guerrilla warfare of the 1937 and 1945. The crossing of the Yangtze River in April 1949, marking the victory of the Chinese Communist Party in China's War of Liberation.

The Great Hall of the People is located on the west side of Tian'anmen Square. It is now the most important place for state functions in the square.

The E-shaped building has 134 porch columns. They are all 25 meters high and 2 meters in diameter, a thickness that can be encircled if four persons spread their arms and join hands. The eaves are made of yellow-green glazed tiles. On top of the main entrance is a golden national emblem, which measures 4 meters in diameter.

The Great Hall of the People is divided into three parts. The northern part is a banquet hall where state banquets are given for dignitaries and friends from other counties. The central part is a 10,000-seat auditorium.
The main venue of the National People's Congress, it measures 76 meters
wide, 60 meters long and 32 meters high, with three stories.

The most imposing feature is the ceiling, where huge five-star lights can
shine 70 rays, 40 sunflower petals and 500 star lights. The whole ceiling
is like a moon surrounded by numerous stars.

The southern part houses the offices of the National People's Congress
Standing Committee. The Great Hall of the People is usually open to
visitors.

The two museums on the east side of the square, the Museum of Chinese History and the Museum of the Cinese Revolution, face the Great Hall of the People. Housed in one massive structure, the two museums are of state class status.

Through the porch with 12 huge square columns, one enters the Museum of Chinese History's southern part. On display are relics representing Chinese history from Yuanmou man, 1.7 million years ago, to the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty in 1911. There are more than 9,000 exhibits on display, and more than 300,000 pieces of "natural treasure" class relics.

The northern part of the massive structure houses the Museum of   the Chinese Revolution, chiefly showing the history of modern China (1840-1949).
On display are 2,300 objects, literature, photos, graphics, models, paintings, sculptures and carvings, replicas of historical sites and simulated scenes. These are displayed to give the viewer a general picture of modern China from the 1840 Opium Wars to 1949, when the People's
Republic of China was founded.

This Memorial Hall was completed in August 1977. On the four sides of its
basement are 44 granite porch columns, each 17.5 meters in height, propping
up the golden double-eaves built with glazed tiles.

The memorial hall is divided into the north hall, the homage-paying hall and the south hall. The north hall is a place for carrying out memorial activities before paying homage to the remains of Chairman Mao Zedong.

Standing in the center of the hall is a 3.45-meter high sitting portrait of Chairman Mao carved in marble. Hanging on the wall behind the portrait is a
huge velvet embroidery depicting the beautiful mountains and rivers of China.

The center part of the memorial hall is the homage-paying hall. Chairman
Mao passed away on September 9, 1976, at the age of 82. His remains have
been preserved and are displayed reverently in the crystal coffin in the
center of the hall. The memorial hall was opened to visitors in 1979.
Nowadays, visitors can climb on both rostrums and visit the five modern
buildings of Tian'anmen Square. If you are an early bird you can catch a
sight of the flag-rising ceremony. Or you can visit the square at any time
of the day, just to walk around and get close to the local Chinese people.
Whatever time you chose, you should not miss a visit to this place that
means so much to the Chinese people.

Two of China's most important museums -- the Chinese Museum of History and
the Chinese Museum of Revolution -- will be expanded this year.

More than 60,000 square meters will be added to the museums during the
three-phase projects, estimated to cost 1 billion yuan (US$120 million).

The museums, built in the 1950s at Tian'anmen, "are too small and lag
behind in the ways of displaying cultural relics," said Luo Bojian,
director of the Division of Museums under the State Cultural Relics Bureau.