Beijing - Tian'anmen Square

Tian'anmen Square (The Square of Heavenly Peace), situated in the city center, is considered to be the largest inner-city square in the World. It was built to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the state in 1958 in the place of an older unnamed open space in front of the Gate of Heavenly Peace and can hold up to a million people. It is the center of Socialist China.

The symbolic importance of the square goes back to May 4th 1919 when students demonstrated here against the Chinese provisions of the Versaille treaty. Following the memorial day of April 4th 1976 countless Beijing residents mourned their popular prime minister Zhou Enlai, and a demonstration against the Jiang Qing group ensued, which was forcefully suppressed. In the early summer of 1989 demonstrations for democracy and against press censorship took place here and these were also brutally suppressed.

In the middle of the Tian'anmen Square is the Monument to the People's Heroes (Renmin Yingxiong Jinianbei), a 38m (125ft) obelisk.