Tiananmen Square is the largest public square in the world, roughly 880 meters long and 500 meters wide. It sits on the central north-south axis that has ordered Beijing since the Yuan dynasty, the same line that runs through the Forbidden City, Jingshan Park and the Drum Tower to the north.
What frames the square
On the north side stands the gate itself, with its portrait and its double roof. The Monument to the People's Heroes rises in the center, a granite obelisk with relief carvings at its base. On the west is the Great Hall of the People, on the east the National Museum of China, and to the south the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall. The flagpole at the north end is the site of the sunrise flag-raising ceremony.
The flag ceremony
The raising of the national flag at sunrise and the lowering at sunset are performed by a marching guard and draw large crowds. Sunrise times shift through the year and can be before 5 a.m. in June. If you want to see it, plan the night before and arrive at least thirty minutes early.
Visiting notes
All visitors pass through a security screening, and the queue can take twenty to forty minutes at busy times. Bring your passport; it may be checked. Large bags, tripods and drones are not allowed in. The square is fully open with no shade, so in summer go early or late, and in winter expect strong wind across the paving.
Around the square
Qianmen Street begins just south of the square and the Forbidden City entrance is a short walk north through the gate. Many visitors combine the square with the Forbidden City in a single morning, entering the palace as soon as it opens.
