Tiananmen means "the
gate of
heavenly peace" (characters: heaven - peace - gate). It's been a center for
revolution,
protest, and
political upheaval for nearly as long as it has existed. It was the physical center of the
May Fourth Movement. On
October 1, 1949, it was the site of
Mao's official declaration of the founding of the
People's Republic of China. Later, it hosted the
rallies that started off the
Cultural Revolution. So it was naturally the logical choice for the
Hu Yaobang/
democracy demonstrations of
1989. The Square also holds
Mao's
mausoleum.
In
1999, the square was unusually closed for months surrounding the ten-year anniversary of
June 4, 1989. Supposedly, this was to prepare for the massive celebrations
surrounding the 50th anniversary of the
PRC.
It is the
world's largest
public square.