Tian’anmenRostrumTian’anmen，islocatedinthecenterofBeijing.Itwasfirstbuiltin1417andnamedChengtianmen.AttheendoftheMingDynasty，itwasseriouslydamagedbywar.WhenitwasrebuiltundertheQingin1651，itwasrenamedTian’anmen，andservedasthemainentrancetotheImperialCity，theadministrativeandresidentialquartersforcourtofficialsandretainers.ThesouthernsectionsoftheImperialCitywallstillstandonbothsidesoftheGate.Thetoweratthetopofthegateisnine-roomwideandfive–roomdeep.AccordingtotheBookofChanges，thetwonumbersnineandfive，whencombined，symbolizethesupremestatusofasovereign.DuringtheMingandQingdynasties，Tian’anmenwastheplacewherestateceremoniestookplace.Themostimportantoneofthemwastheissuingofimperialedicts，whichfollowedthesesteps:1)TheMinisterofRiteswouldreceivetheedictinTaihedian，wheretheEmperorwasholdinghiscourt.Theministerwouldthencarrythedecreeonayunpan，andwithdrawfromthehallviaTaihemen2)TheMinisterwouldputthetrayinaminiaturelongting.BeneathayellowumbrellaandcarryitviaWumen，toTian’anmenGatetower.3)Acourtierwouldbeinvestedtoproclaimtheedict.Thecivilandmilitaryofficialsliningbothsidesofthegatewaybeneaththetowerwouldprostratethemselvesinthedirectionoftheemperorinwaitingforthedecreetotheproclaimed.4)Thecourtierwouldthenputtheedictinaphoenix-shapedwoodenboxandloweritfromthetowerbymeansofasilkcord.TheumentwouldfinallybecarriedinasimilartrayofcloudunderayellowumbrellatotheMinistryofRites.5)Theedict，copiedonyellowpaper，wouldbemadeknowntothewholecountry.BRSuchaprocesswashistoricallyrecordedas“ImperialEdictIssuedbyGoldenPhoenix”.DuringtheMingandQingdynastiesTian’anmenwasthemostimportantpassage.ItwasthisgatethattheEmperorandhisretinuewouldgothroughontheirwaytothealtarsforritualandreligiousactivities.OntheWestsideofTian’anmenstandsZhongshanPark，andontheeastside，theWorkingPeople’sCulturalPalave.TheParkwasformerlycalledShejitan，builtin1420forofferingsacrificialitemstotheGodofLand.Itwasopenedtothepublicasaparkin1914anditsnamewaschangedin1928tothepresentoneinmemoryofthegreatpioneeroftheChineseDemocraticRevolution.TheWorkingPeople’sCulturalPalaceusedtobeTaimiao，wheretabletsofthedeceaseddynasticrulerswerekept.
    ThestreaminfrontofTian’anmeniscalledWaijinshuihe，withsevenmarblebridgesspanningoverit.Ofthesesevenbridges，historicalrecordssaythemiddleonewasfortheexclusiveuseoftheemperorandwasaccordinglycalledYuluqiao.ThebridgesflankingitoneithersideweremeantforthemembersoftheroyalfamilyandwerethereforecalledWanggongqiao.FartherawayoneachsideofthetwowerebridgesforofficialsrankingabovethethirdorderandwerenamedPinjiqiao.TheremainingtwobridgeswerefortheusebytheretinuebelowthethirdorderandwrecalledGongshengqiao.TheyanrtheoneinfrontoftheSupremeAncestralTempletotheeastandtheoneinfrontoftheAltaroflandandGraintothewest.
    ThetwostonelionsbytheGateofTian’anmen，oneoneachsideweremeantassentries.Theygazetowardthemiddleaxis，guardingtheemperor’swalkway.InfrontofthegatestandsapairofmarblecolumnscalledHuabiao.Theyareelaboratelycutinbas-relieffollowingthepatternofalegendarydragon.Behindthegatestandsanotherpairofsimilarcolumns.ThestoryofHuabiaomaybetracedtoacoupleofsources.OneoftheversionsaccreditsitsinventiontooneoftheChinesesagekingsnamedYao，whowassaidtohavesetupawoodenpillarinordertoallowtheordinarypeopletoexposeevil-doers，henceitwasoriginallycalledaslanderpillar.Lateritwsreducedtoasignpost，andnowitservesasanornament.Thebeastsittingonthetopofthecolumniscalled”hou”，alegendaryanimal，whichissaidtohavebeenawatcherofanemperor’sbehaviour.Hewasdoingsuchdutiesaswarningtheemperoragainststayingtoolongoutsidethepalaceorindulginginpleasureandurginghimtogotothepeoplefortheircomplaintsorreturninduetime.Therefore，thetwopairsofbeastsweregiventhenames”Wangjunhui”and“wangjunchu”respectinvely.
    Intheolddays，Tian’anmen，asapartoftheImperialCity，wasmeantforimportantoccasions.Thetworowsofchaofang，onthesidesbehindthemaingate，wrereservedforcivilandmilitarymembersofthegovernmentwaitingforimperialaudienceandinfrontofthegate，wereofficesofimperialadministration.
    OnOctober1，1949，chairmanMaoZedongproclaimedonTian’anmenRostrumthefoundingofthePeople’sRepublicofChina.SincethenTian’anmenhasbeenthesymbolofNewChine“a.ChairmanMao’sportraitishungabovethecentralentrance，flankedbytwoslogans:”LongLivetheGreatUnityofthePeoplesoftheWorld”.Today，thesplendourofTian’anmenattractsmillionofvisitorsfromallovertheworld.TheRostrumonitstopwasopenedin1988tothepublicforthefirsttimeinitshistory.ItoffersapanoramicviewoftheSquareandthecityproper.Tian’anmenSquare
    SituatedduesouthofTian’anmen，theSquarehasanareaof44hectaresthatcanaccommodateasmanyasonemillionpeopleforpublicgatherings.IthaswitnessedmayhistoricaleventsinChina’smodernhistoryandisaplaceforcelebrationsonsuchfestivedaysasinternationalLabourDayonMay1standnationalDayonOctober1st.