Partly built during the Ming Dynasty in the 1420s, Tiananmen has a rich history to tell. The Gate previously called the Gate of Receiving Grace from Heaven (Chengtianmen) was built during the 1420s. The Tiananmen Tower, which resides towards the north of Tiananmen Square, was built during the Ming Dynasty (1368 A.D. – 1644 A.D.), in 1417. The Chengtianmen got burned down and was built again by Xianzong, a Ming Emperor, in 1465.
During the battles between the peasant leader Li Zicheng and the Qing armies, the Chengtianmen was damaged and could even possibly have been destroyed. The Tiananmen (The Gate of Heavenly Peace) Square was built there in 1651 and was cemented over and extended to four times its size (as it now stands) in 1958. Parts of the square were destroyed during the Boxer Rebellion of 1900. The square has been home to many protests, demonstrations and political events. The announcement of the People’s Republic of China was made here, by Mao Zedong on October 1st, 1949. A place for mass rallies during the Cultural Revolution and also the site of the Tiananmen protest of 1979 and the Tiananmen Square protest of 1989.
The place is host to the annual National Day parade held in China. The square spans an area of 100 acres and is the largest open-air urban square in the world. The Tiananmen has five arched gateways at the base that go up 10 meters high. On top a royal gate tower sits with a roof 33.7 meters above the ground. The low wall the surrounds, encloses a white marble balustrade. This borders the tower on all four sides. On the ridges of the roof are animals carved in, with 10 dragon heads at the end of the main roof and at all the corners of the double roof.
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