Tiananmen stop near Tiananmen. Tiananmen The Tiananmen or Tian'anmen (), or the Gate of Heavenly Peace, is a monumental gate in the centre of Beijing, widely used as a national symbol of China. First built during the Ming dynasty in 1420, Tiananmen was the entrance to the Imperial City, within which the Forbidden City was located. Tiananmen is located to the north of Tiananmen Square, separated from the plaza by Chang'an Avenue. The Chinese name of the gate (/), is made up of the Chinese characters for "heaven," "peace" and "gate" respectively, which is why the name is conventionally translated as
1989 Tiananmen Square protests fled in panic. An ambulance that was arriving was also caught in the gunfire. The crowd tried several more times but could not enter the Square, which remained closed to the public for two weeks. On 5 June, suppression of the protest was immortalized in Western media by the famous video footage and photographs of a lone man standing in front of a column of tanks driving out of Tiananmen Square. The iconic photo that would eventually make its way around the world was taken on 5 June on Chang'an Avenue. As the tank driver tried to go around him,