This is a walk through Tiananmen (Beijing), the second largest square in the world

Surely one of the reasons you have for plan a trip to china is having the opportunity to walk through the Tiananmen Square  in the historic center of the city of Pekin.

You already know that for their dimensions It is one of the largest squares in the world, specifically the second after the Merdeka square de Jakarta, In Indonesia.

But above all Tiananmen It is the place where the most important events of the history of china, which makes it an emblematic place in the city of Beijing.

How to get to Beijing

There are several companies with which you can fly to Beijing from Madrid.

But in the case of my trip to China I chose KLM, company whose advantages include having a stopover at an airport as modern and comfortable as it is. Schiphol Airport, riding a Amsterdam, in addition to being able to fly in a high-tech and comfortable aircraft such as the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

KLM is part of the group of Air France, so the offer of flights to Beijing from Spain is usually four each day, covering different schedules during the day, and in this last option making a stopover in the Charles De Gaulle airport de Paris.

When is Tiananmen Square measured?

Already in Beijing, when you arrive to visit the Tiananmen Square You will see that its dimensions are truly spectacular.

As it is a large open space, which is also not surrounded by tall buildings, the feeling of its magnitude increases.

Specifically, the square has a length of almost one kilometer (800 meters) from north to south and 500 meters from east to west, which provides a total area of ​​440.000 square meters.

This impressive square was designed in 1417 during the Ming dynasty, right in front of the Imperial Palace, better known as the Forbidden City, another corner that, knowing it, undoubtedly invites you to make your trip to China.

The objective was to provide a large space where crowds could attend the consecration ceremonies of the emperors.

Now, its current urban planning dates back to the 50s, when several buildings were built following the style of the Soviet Union.

What to see in Tiananmen Square

After assimilating its dimensions, in Tiananmen You will be struck by the thousands of tourists walking through the square, but the absolute majority are Chinese tourists.

You have to keep in mind that traveling to Beijing and visiting Tiananmen and the Imperial Palace is one of the wishes of the vast majority of the population of a country as enormous as China.

During your walk through Tiananmen Square you will see several monuments and buildings.

Imperial Palace Forbidden City

Without a doubt the most prominent, in its northern part, is the aforementioned Imperial Palace, better known as the Forbidden City.

It is a large palace complex one kilometer long that is surrounded by a large wall and moats, and which was completed in 1420, and where up to 24 emperors of the two Chinese dynasties resided.

It was in 1924 when the Imperial Palace left the last emperor of china.

Monument to the People's Heroes

Right in the center of the square stands a large monolith, the Monument to the People's Heroes.

This 38-meter-high obelisk was built in 1952 and is considered the largest monolith built.

Built in tribute to the heroes killed in the war with the Japanese and in the civil wars, in the Monument to the People's Heroes The inscription stands out with the phrase of the leader of the Chinese revolution, Mao Zedong, Eternal glory to the heroes of the people.

In the lower part of the monument, whose base occupies 3.000 square meters, there are various white marble bas-reliefs showing scenes from China's revolutionary history.

Mao Zedong Memorial

In the southern part of the square is the building that houses the Mao Zedong Memorial.

It will be easily recognizable by the very long lines of Chinese tourists who come daily to see the embalmed body of the charismatic leader of the Chinese Revolution.

It was built after his death in September 1976, and in May of the following year his embalmed body was already inside a glass urn for tribute to the Chinese population.

As a curiosity, China At that time I did not have the necessary technology for the embalming of Mao Zedong, so it had to ask its ally Vietnam for help, given that it was facing the Soviet Union.

After being exposed for only three hours, each day the glass urn is lowered into a special container that keeps it at a very low temperature to ensure its conservation.

If you have time in your visit to Tiananmen Square and you dare to stand in line, you should know that the Mao Zedong Memorial schedule They are from Tuesday to Sunday, only from 8 to 11 in the morning.

Finally, on the west side of the square you will see a large building that will surely catch your attention: it is the headquarters of the Chinese People's Congress.

I warn you that you must reserve a good time for your visit. Tiananmen Square, because you will surely be enthralled by its spectacular dimensions, but also by the enormous tourist atmosphere (all Chinese...) that is concentrated in this iconic place of Beijing.

Political issues aside.