Tiananmen Square

Tiananmen Square lies at the centre of Beijing, directly south of the Tiananmen gate and the Forbidden City. It measures about 765 by 282 metres. The square was first laid out in 1651 and was enlarged to four times its size in the 1950s. Mao Zedong proclaimed the founding of the People's Republic of China here on 1 October 1949, and the square has been at the centre of many events in modern Chinese history. In 2024 it was inscribed as part of the Beijing Central Axis World Heritage Site.

The buildings around it are a lesson in the capital's layout. To the north is Tiananmen, the Gate of Heavenly Peace, which separates the square from the Forbidden City. To the south stands Zhengyangmen, also known as Qianmen, one of the old gates of the city. The Great Hall of the People lines the west side and the National Museum of China lines the east. In the middle are the 38-metre Monument to the People's Heroes and the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong.

Each day the national flag is raised at sunrise and lowered at sunset at the national flagpole at the northern end of the square, so the timing shifts through the year with the seasons.

Since 15 December 2021, visitors have needed to make a reservation before entering the square. Carry the passport you used for the reservation. The square is part of a large security zone, which means walking and queuing take time; the National Museum of China notes that taxis cannot drop visitors at its entrance for this reason, and recommends Line 1 to Tian'anmen East or Line 2 to Qianmen and walking north.

A visit to the square works well combined with the National Museum on its east side and the Forbidden City to the north. Allow an hour or so for the square itself, longer if you plan to watch the flag ceremony, as the crowds gather well before it starts. Families, history enthusiasts and anyone interested in the layout of the old capital will find it a useful first stop, as the major sights of central Beijing all line up around it.