Tiananmen Square facts for kids

Tian'anmen Square (Tian'anmen Guangchang) is a large plaza near the center of Beijing, China. It is named after the Tian'anmen (Gate of Heavenly Peace) which sits to its north, separating it from the Forbidden City (Zijincheng). Outside of China, the square is well known for the Tian'anmen Square protests of 1989.

The square is 880 meters south to north and 500 meters east to west, a total area of 440,000 square meters. It is the largest open-urban square in the world.

Tian'anmen Square

Images for kids

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  Tiananmen Square in the early 20th century, viewed from Zhengyangmen Gate (Qianmen Gate) with the Gate of China, later removed in 1954, in the place of the present-day Mao Zedong Mausoleum. The "corridor of a thousand steps" is visible behind the Gate of China, and Tiananmen Gate is in the distance.

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  Iconic image of the Tiananmen Square from the May Fourth movement of 1919

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  Satellite image of Tiananmen Square (taken on 1967-09-20), the Tian'anmen gate to the north. Further works were carried out in the 1970s to extend the open plaza by demolishing the buildings immediately to the south of the square shown in this image.

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  Security cameras at Tiananmen Square

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  Tiananmen gate to the north of Tiananmen Square

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  National Museum of China on the east side of the Square

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  The Great Hall of the People on the west side of the Square

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  Zhengyangmen Gate Tower marking the south end of Tiananmen Square

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  Monument to the People's Heroes and the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong occupy the center of the Square

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  Monument to the People's Heroes

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  Mausoleum of Mao Zedong

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  Monument in front of Mao's Mausoleum on Tiananmen Square

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  A temporary monument in Tiananmen Square marking the 90th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party in 2011