At the axis of the imperial city, the T-shaped square between Daming-men, the first gate of imperial city, named Daqingmen in the Qing Dynasty and later removed, and Chengtianmen, named Tiananmen in the Qing Dynasty, is Tiananmen Square.

After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, some old buildings were removed and the square was enlarged. To the east there built the Museum of Chinese History and the Museum of the Chinese Revolution, to the west the Great Hall of the People and in the center the Monument to the People’s Heroes. The enlarged square is 880 meters long from north to south, and 500 meters wide from east to west, with total of 440,000 square meters and is said to be the biggest square in the world.

In 1999, the square was rebuilt to greet the 50th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China. The 64 groups of lotus-shaped lights were repainted and some were replaced, another four groups of high-pole lights were rebuilt as well, which made the illumination of the square reach as high as 100 lux. The old 160,000 square meters’ concrete ground bricks were changed into light pink granite ones, and so were the walk path around. The green area around was enlarged. The spouting fountains were rebuilt. All makes the square take on a new look and present a really splendid sight.

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