Tian'anmen Rostrum

Tian'anmen Rostrum was first built in 1420 of the Ming dynasty. At that time it was called the Gate of Heavenly Succession(Chengtianmen). But it was seriously damaged in a war in 1644 and was rebuilt in 1651 during the Qing dynasty, and then the name was changed to Tian'anmen.

During the Ming and the Qing dynasties, Tian'anmen was the main entrance to the former Imperial City and the most famous "Imperial Edict Issued by Golden Phoenix" was held in this tower.

On October 1st 1949, Mao Zedong proclaimed to the whole world the founding of the People's Republic of China on this gate tower. Since then, Tian'anmen has been the symbol of New China.

Tian'anmen Rostrum is located in the center of Beijing. It is  34.7 meters high with Mao's portrait hanging above the central entrance. There are two slogans on each side, one is" Long live the People's Republic of China", the other one is " Long live the Great Unity of the People of the World". The National Emblem is in the middle between the double eaves. Tian'anmen Rostrum was opened to the public on january 1st 1988, because that was the first Year of Tourism, and that was also the Year of the Dragon.

There are seven stone bridges in front of Tian'anmen Rostrum known as the Golden Water Bridges. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the middle one was called Imperial Bridge which was used for the emperor only. The two bridges on each side were call Royals' Bridges, used by the royal family. The other two bridges were named Ministerial Bridges for the civil and military officals above the third rank.Two more bridges, one is in front of the Altar of Land and Grain to the west,and another one is in front of the Supreme Ancestral Temple to the east,were called Common Bridges used by the officials below the fourth rank.(Today the Altar of Land and Grain and the Supreme Ancestral Temple were converted into "Zhongshan Park" and the "Working People's Cultural Palace" respectively.

In front of the Golden Water Bridges there is a pair of white marble columns, they are called "Huaibiao". Behind the gate of Tian'anmen stands another pair of "Huabiao". Huaibiao has a history of more than 4,000 years. At that time, it was called "suggestion column" or "comment pillar". Later, it was reduced to a "street column" or "sign post". As time went on, Huabiao became a pure architectural decoration.

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Orignal From: Tian'anmen Rostrum