Tiananmen Square

The Square includes the Monument to the People’s Heroes and the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong on the square. There are also Beijing’s most iconic structures on each side of Tiananmen Square:

• South: Qianmen Gate
  Qianmen Gate, also known as Zhengyang Gate, is the original gate into old Beijing dating back to the Ming Dynasty.
• West: The Great Hall of the People
  This building is used for legislative activities. It is the meeting place of the National People’s Congress and used for other political and diplomatic affairs.
• East: National Museum of China
  The National Museum of China houses an array of artefacts and cultural relics from China’s extensive history. It is a comprehensive museum that collects, researches, displays and interprets China’s fine traditional culture, revolutionary culture and advanced socialist culture.
• North: The Forbidden City
  The Forbidden City, also known as the Imperial Palace and the Palace Museum, is the largest and best-preserved collection of ancient buildings in China.