The Tiananmen Square in the center of Beijing, is said to be the biggest square in the world. It is 880 meters from north to south, and 500 meters from east to west, with total area of 440,000 square meters and can hold one million people. The Tiananmen Gate Tower sites at the north, the Five-Star Red Flag flies high on the square, the Monument to the People's Heroes dominates the center, the Great Hall of the People and the Museum of the Chinese Revolution and the Museum of Chinese History to the east and west of it, as well as The Chairman Mao Memorial Hall and the Qianmen gate, sit in the south of the square. Over several hundred years, in front of the Tiananmen, many democracy meetings and demonstrations are held. Tens of thousands of people visit daily. The Square is listed top among Beijing's 16 scenic spots.
As the first gate of the Imperial City, the Tiananmen Gate was designed very grand and magnificent as befitted the supremacy of the emperor. Old Beijingers have deep feeling towards Tiananmen. "THE LIONS BEFORE TIANANMEN-- SET FACING OUT" uses the two huge stone lions standing at the end of the Jinshui (Golden Water) Bridge in front of Tiananmen Gate to describe two well-matched forces.
See Interactive Panorama of the Square Here:
http://www.thebeijingguide.com/tiananmen_square/index.html
A massive demonstration for democratic reform, begun on Tiananmen Square by Chinese students in April, 1989, was brutally repressed on June 3 and 4, 1989. It was initiated to demand the posthumous rehabilitation of former Communist Party Chairman Hu Yaobang.
The government was tolerant until after his funeral; then Deng Xiaoping denounced the protests. The demonstrators were joined by workers, intellectuals, and civil servants, until over a million people filled the square. General Secretary Zhao Ziyang expressed sympathy, but lost out to Deng, who supported the use of military suppression.
Martial law was declared on May 20. The protesters demanded that the leadership resign, but the government answered on the nights of June 3 and 4 with troops and tanks, killing thousands to quell a "counter-revolutionary rebellion." Zhao was dismissed and a number of the student leaders were arrested.
Read More Information and History of the 1989 Protest Here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiananmen_Square_protests_of_1989
