During the Ming and Qing dynasties the Tian'anmen Square was forbidden to common people. No one have chance to have a look at it. If anyone did, he would be deemed as committing a crime of "illegally peeping at the palace gate". When the officials got to the front of the gate they had to get off the horse and proceed on foot into the palace.

Historical events took place in the Tian'anmen Square

• In 1919, the May 4th Movement broke out in Beijing. Students and residents staged a patriotic demonstration in the square. It is the beginning of the new democratic revolution in China against imperialism and feudalism.
• In 1925, the "May 30th Massacre in Shanghai" enraged the Chinese people and roused them into action. To support the just struggle, the patriotic people in Beijing held a grand rally in the Tian'anmen Square.
• On March 18th in 1926, the people of Beijing held a rally in the Tian'anmen Square, denouncing the invasion by the Japanese warship into the territorial waters of China.
• In 1935, students in Beijing launched the December 9th Movement against the Japanese aggression. They held a demonstration in the square.
• On May 20th in 1947, the progressive students of Beijing staged a demonstration in the Tian'anmen Square, demanding the implementation of forming a coalition government." Shouting the slogan "Oppose hunger and civil war".
• On October 1st 1949, Chairman Mao Zedong, standing on the Tian'anmen Rostrum, declared to the world that the "People's Republic of China has been founded".

Beijing Tour Routes covers Tiananmen Square:

Photo of Tiananmen Square