Tiananmen Video Clips

Tiananmen: The Gate and the Square

The Gate: One of a series of entrances into the Imperial City, Tiananmen Gate took on new significance in the People's Republic, hailed as "the place where the sun has risen."


"Beloved Gate" (11 sec.)	"The East is Red" (12 sec.)	Founding Day '49 (16 sec.)

The Square: The open area before the Gate was where ministers and subjects had once gathered to hear the proclamation of imperial edicts. In the 1950s, the government ordered the building of a great square to accommodate the orchestrated crowds.


The Square in 1949 (11 sec.)	Construction, 1950's (26 sec.)	View of the Square, 1959 (4 sec.)

The Great Hall of the People and the Monument of the People's Heroes: Construction of the Great Hall, site of all major government meetings, congresses and official gatherings, was completed in 1959. The Monument was built in the late 1950s to commemorate those who had died for change and revolution in China since 1840. The bas-relief around the Monument depicts highlights of the Chinese Revolution.


Great Hall Construction (14 sec.)	Pan, 1950's (9 sec.)	Bas-relief (3 sec.)	The Monument (23 sec.)

Tourists on the Square: Bob Hope: On the Road to China


On the Square (13 sec.)	Pan of the Square (5 sec.)

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Read about Tiananmen Square - its construction, the history of its buildings and monuments,
the rallies and events that were staged there - in the Tiananmen Square Tour.