Gate of Heavenly Peace

Hung with a vast likeness of Mao, the double-eaved Gate of Heavenly Peace, north of Tiananmen Square, is a potent national symbol. Built in the 15th century and restored in the 17th century, the gate was formerly the largest of the four gates of the Imperial City Wall. Called Chéngtiān Mén during the Ming dynasty, it was renamed Tiānān Mén during Emperor Shunzhi’s reign in 1651. The gate is guarded by two pairs of Ming stone lions; one of the creatures apocryphally blocked the path of Li Chuangwang as he invaded Běijīng at the end of the Ming dynasty. Li fended the lion off by stabbing its belly with his spear while on horseback, leaving a mark that can still be seen. Other locals dispute this story, arguing that it is a bullet hole from allied-force guns when troops entered Běijīng to quell the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. In the 1950s, electric trams used to pass in front of the gate. Until 1952, the two large gates of Chang’an Zuomen and Chang’an Youmen stood south of the Gate of Heavenly Peace, at right angles to it. There are five doors to the gate, fronted by seven bridges spanning a stream. Each of these bridges was restricted in its use, and only the emperor could use the central door and bridge. The soldiers performing the punctilious daily flag-raising and flag-lowering ceremony on Tiananmen Square emerge through the gate. Today’s political coterie watches mass troop parades from here, and it was from this gate that Mao proclaimed the People’s Republic of China on 1 October 1949. The dominating feature is the gigantic portrait of the ex-chairman, to the left of which runs the poetic slogan ‘Long Live the People’s Republic of China’ and to the right ‘Long Live the Unity of the Peoples of the World’. If entering the palace from the south, you pass through the gate on your way to the Forbidden City. Climb up for excellent views of Tiananmen Square, and peek inside at the impressive beams and overdone paintwork; in all there are 60 gargantuan wooden pillars and 17 vast lamps suspended from the ceiling. Within the gate tower there is also a fascinating photographic history of the gate (but only in Chinese) and Tiananmen Square; no prizes for guessing which monumental historical episode from the late 1980s makes a non-appearance. Yawn-inducing patriotic video presentations celebrating communist events round off the picture. There’s no fee for walking through the gate, but if you climb it you’ll have to buy an admission ticket and pay (Y2 to Y6) to store your bag (one hour maximum) at the kiosk about 30m northwest of the ticket office. As the gate is a state symbol, security here can be intense and locals are scrupulously frisked. Note that the gate ticket office only sells tickets for the gate; if you want to visit the Forbidden City, continue north until you can go no further.