Tiananmen Gate

This monumental gate forms the southern entrance to the old imperial city, closing the northern edge of the vast public square below. First raised in the early fifteenth century and rebuilt after fires and warfare, its russet walls carry a reviewing balcony from which the People's Republic was proclaimed in 1949. Visitors climb to that terrace for a view down the central axis toward the ceremonial ground and the palace rooftops. Stone lions and marble bridges over a moat frame the approach.