Tiananmen Square in the centre of Beijing takes its name from the Tiananmen, the Gate of Heavenly Peace, which was built in 1417 under the Ming dynasty as the entrance to the Imperial City. The square itself was much smaller until it was greatly enlarged in the late 1950s, and it is now one of the largest public squares in the world. On 1 October 1949 Mao Zedong proclaimed the founding of the People's Republic of China from the gate. The square is surrounded by major buildings, including the Great Hall of the People and the National Museum, and the Monument to the People's Heroes and Mao's mausoleum stand within it. It was the site of the May Fourth Movement in 1919 and of the 1989 protests, which the army ended with force in early June, with many deaths.
Before and after
- from 5 November 1414 to 22 April 1418Council of Constance
- from 1415 to 1453Lancastrian War
- from 21 August 1415 to 20 December 1999Portuguese Empire
- from 1417 to 1420Construction of Registan
- 1417Construction of Tiananmen Square
- from 30 July 1419 to 30 May 1434Hussite Wars
- 1420Construction of Kremlin
- from c. 1420s to 1440sFounding of Ulugh Beg Observatory
- 1420The Forbidden City is completed
More in Civilizations & archaeology
- 710 CEConstruction of Al-Aqsa Mosque
- 990 CEConstruction of Château de Montsoreau
- from 11th century to 18th centuryHouse of Habsburg
- from c. 1113 to 1150Suryavarman II builds Angkor Wat
- from 1206 to 1368Mongol Empire
- 1239Construction of Alhambra
The era
This moment belongs to the Medieval world (500 CE to 1500 CE), kingdoms, faiths and trade routes. You can also browse everything in the 15th century.