Tiananmen Square-----The Heart Of China

Tiananmen Square is a large city square in the center of Beijing, China, named after the Tiananmen gate (Gate of Heavenly Peace) located to its North, separating it from the Forbidden City. Tiananmen Square is the fourth largest city square in the world. It has great cultural significance as it was the site of several important events in Chinese history.

It originally served as the entry point to the imperial city during the Ming and Qing Dynasties and was constructed in the fifteenth year of Ming Emperor Yong Le (1402-1424). Tiananmen was used by the emperor as the place for issuing royal edicts. It was also used for important celebration activities, such as the ascension of a new emperor, his marriage, important sacrifices or the gate for the royal parents to enter the palace. Before embarking with his army for war it was tradition to hold sacrifices at the gate and pray for victory.


Used as a massive meeting place since its creation, its flatness is contrasted by the 38-meter high Monument to the People's Heroes, and the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong. The square lies between two ancient, massive gates: the Tian'anmen to the north and the Zhengyangmen, better known as Qianmen to the south. Along the west side of the Square is the Great Hall of the People. Along the east side is the National Museum of China (dedicated to Chinese history predating 1919). Chang'an Avenue, which is used for parades, lies between the Tian'anmen and the Square. Trees line the east and west edges of the Square, but the square itself is open, with neither trees nor benches. The Square is lit with large lampposts which are fitted with video cameras. It is heavily monitored by uniformed and plain clothes policemen.

Because of the gate's position at the front of the Imperial City, and historical events that have taken place on Tian'anmen Square, the gate has great political significance. During the 20th Century its importance has frequently been recognized by decorating the square with various portraits or statues of people deemed worthy of special honor. 

Two lions stand constantly vigil guarding the entrance to the gate while two more keep watch over the bridges. In Chinese culture, lions are believed to protect humans from evil spirits. The outer Golden Water River is in front of city gate tower and seven jade stone bridges run across it. The widest bridge is in the middle. It is the "Imperial Bridge" used exclusively by the emperor. The actual Tiananmen Square is the largest city-central square in the world. It is 500 meters (1640 feet) wide and 880 meters (2887 feet) long and paved with a light granite slate. The flag-raising ceremony at sunrise and flag-lowering ceremony at sunset are impressive daily rituals. For a panoramic view of the square, ascend to the top of the Tiananmen Gate. It was on this landmark that Chairman Mao proclaimed the establishment of the PRC.

Line 1 of the Beijing Subway has stops at Tiananmen West and Tiananmen East, respectively, to the northwest and northeast of the Square on Chang'an Avenue. Line 2's Qianmen Station is directly south of the Square. Most days Tiananmen Square is filled with sight-seers and kite-flyers. During national holidays, it's usually festooned with banners and floral decorations. Many people visit at dawn or dusk to see elite People's Liberation Army troops conduct flag raising or lowering ceremonies. 

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Lama Temple--Beijing

Located in the northeast of Beijing, LamaTemple is the most handsome and impressive Buddhist temple in Beijing. It is the only temple in Beijing to have its own subway stop. Lama Temple was built in the 33 Qing Kangxi year (1694) and it is now the largest and best-preserved Lamasery of Yellwo Sect in Beijing.

It was built as a mansion by Kangxi, the second emperor of Qing Dynasty (1636-1911), for his son Yongzheng who is the third emperor. With yellow tiles and red walls, the Lama Temple has the same standard with Forbidden City. The mansion turned into a temple of Buddhism in 1744. The Lama Temple is reputed as the Buddhist temple of the highest standard in China. As the courtyard of the temple becomes smaller from south to north, the hall becomes taller which represent the features of ethical architectures.

Besides the layout of the temple and the majestic decorations of the halls, the unique Buddhist relics in the temple are also worth to see. Lama Temple is regarded as the Buddhist Museum. Dalai and Panchen Lama who are the two living Buddha in Tibet once propagandized in the temple. As a religion stage, Lama Temple has its significant position in the aspects of religion, culture and national unity. It is a cultural relic in value of history, art and science.

500 Arhat Mountain in the Hall of Dharma Wheel(Falundian) is carved with rosewood,3 meters wide, 5 meter high and thirty centimeters thick. The Five-hundred-arhat Mountain is carved with rosewood, whicih is 3 meters wide, 5 meters high and 30 centimeters thick apporoximately. The five hundreds arhats is made of five metalsgold, siver copper, iron and tin-and it is one of "three masterpieces" of Lama Temple.

The huge wood-carved "Maidala Buddha" worshipped in the Ten-Thousan-Buddha Pavilion(Wanfoge) is 18 meters high, and 26 meters high all together if plus with the 8 meters buried under the earth. It is also one of the "three masterpieces" of Lama Temple. The rosewodd huge Buddha has been listed into the Guinnes World Record in 1990.

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798 Art Zone

798 Art Zone, or Dashanzi Art District, is a part of Dashanzi in the Chaoyang District of Beijing that houses a thriving artistic community, among 50-year old decommissioned military factory buildings of unique architectural style. The area is often called the 798 Art District or Factory 798 although technically, Factory #798 is only one of several structures within a complex formerly known as Joint Factory 718. The buildings are located inside alleys number 2 and 4 on Jiuxianqiao Road(酒仙桥路), south of the Dàshānziqiáo flyover.

 798 Art Zone in Beijing is always compared with Greenwich Village and SOHO in New York. From 2001, artists in and around Beijing began to move into 798 factory because they thought the factory had unique advantage for art creates. They made use of the architecture features of Bauhaus (Bauhaus is an architecture feature in German formed in 1920s. It belongs to Modernism architectures. Bauhaus thinks much of the functions, techniques and economic effects of the constructions which are represented in 798 factory). The artists decorated the factory and turned it into a special art exhibition and creative room. Now 798 is now becoming a cultural landmark of Beijing. 798 Space is a new rising, avant-garde and trendy space that hosts high-level cultural, artistic and commercial activities. Mottled red-brick wall,Scattered orderly industrial plants, crisscross pipelines, slogans of different ages on the wall. Uniformed workers and fashion visitors form unique scenery. History and reality, industry and the arts perfectly fit here. The art zone can hold more than 1000 guests with ease. More than 100 cultural institutions including publish, architecture design, fashion design, furniture design, music performance, film and art studios are set up here. Besides art galleries, bars, restaurants, book stores, clothes shops and Yoga centers could also be found in the art zone. 798 Art Zone was awarded as one of the 22 best city art centers by Time Magazine in 2003.

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