One of the world's largest public spaces, Tiananmen Square was originally built in the mid-1600s. The square is named after the red "Gate of Heavenly Peace" on its northern edge -- the main gate into the Forbidden City, the palace of China's emperors.

A decade after the founding of the People's Republic of China, Tiananmen was drastically enlarged and paved over. It now covers an area of 100 acres.

It was from the balcony of Tiananmen that Mao Tse-tung declared the People's Republic of China in 1949, following the communist victory over their Nationalist rivals. A large portrait of Mao now hangs over the main Tiananmen entrance.

Tiananmen is considered to be China's political heart. It has been the site of numerous demonstrations and rallies -- from a 1952 celebration of increased steel production, to memorial ceremonies marking the death of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin in 1953.

Stalin's successor as Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev, was also honored by Chinese leaders with a rally in Tiananmen , but it was during that visit to Beijing that the Soviet-Chinese split became apparent.

In the 1960s, hundreds of thousands of Red Guards crowded into the square, to proclaim their devotion to Chairman Mao -- and wave the "little red book" of Mao's sayings during the chaotic Cultural Revolution. Demonstrations were also held in the Square in support of North Vietnam's war against the United States But within years of those events, Mao would be hosting U.S. President Richard Nixon at the chairman's private quarters, not far from Tiananmen. Nixon also attended a banquet at the Great Hall of the People, on the western side of the square.

Following his death in 1976, Mao was entombed in an elaborate building at the southern end of the square. It is visited by thousands of people each week, as well as national leaders such as Fidel Castro, who visited in 1995.

Tiananmen became the center of international attention in 1989, when student-led pro-democracy demonstrators took over the square for several weeks. The students made the Monument to the People's Heroes, an obelisk in the center of the square, their makeshift headquarters. It was during these protests that students also constructed the "goddess of democracy" statue, just across from the portrait of Mao. Those demonstrations were violently suppressed in June of 1989. Hundreds of demonstrators were killed.

In more recent years, Tiananmen has been used to help celebrate the return of Hong Kong to China in 1997, following more than 150 years of British rule. Similar celebrations are expected when the Portuguese colony of Macau returns to Chinese sovereignty at the end of 1999.