Tiananmen

The Gate of Heavenly Peace (Chinese天安门/天安门, Pinyin Tian'anmen ) is on the north side of Tiananmen Square, the main entrance to the Forbidden City, the Imperial Palace in Beijing. It is the place from which Mao Zedong on October 1, 1949 proclaimed the People's Republic of China. Therefore, the gate also appears in the national emblem of the People's Republic of China.

Originally called the gate Chengtianmen (Chinese承天 门/承天 门, Gate, which bears the sky ' ).

The inscriptions which are the central passage on the right and left, are as follows:

The gate was built during the construction of the palace in 1417 under the third Ming emperor Yongle and burned at the end of the Ming dynasty by the rebels under Li Zicheng. During the Qing Dynasty, it was rebuilt again. In December 1969, the original, dilapidated gate was completely demolished in an action kept secret until 2000, under the pretext of renovation and until April 1970 true to the original except for a few details. It has a total height of 33.7 meters and plays a central role in Chinese history. At the Gate of Heavenly Peace proclamations of the emperor were picked and here the emperor offered sacrifices when he left the palace.

Gallery

Side view from the southeast

Mao portrait

The national emblem of the People's Republic of China