Monument to the People's Heroes

　　The Monument to the People's Heroes is located in the center of Beijing's Tiananmen Square. On September 30, 1949, the First Plenary Session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference decided to erect the Monument to the People's Heroes in the capital city of Beijing to commemorate the martyrs who sacrificed their lives in the people's liberation war and the people's revolution. At 6 p.m. that day, all the delegates attending the conference held a foundation-laying ceremony for the monument in the square in front of Tiananmen. Later, through extensive national discussions, the design of the monument was finalized. In 1961, the Monument to the People's Heroes was listed by the State Council of the People's Republic of China as one of the first batch of Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level. Located north of the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall, it is a monument built by the government of the People's Republic of China to commemorate the revolutionary martyrs in modern Chinese history.

　　Design and Construction

　　　　On September 30, 1949, the First Plenary Session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference decided to erect the Monument to the People's Heroes in the capital city of Beijing to commemorate the martyrs who sacrificed their lives in the people's liberation war and the people's revolution. At 6 p.m. that day, all the delegates attending the conference held a foundation-laying ceremony for the monument in the square in front of Tiananmen. The chief representatives of all units of the CPPCC, led by Chairman Mao Zedong, each took a shovel of earth to lay the foundation stone of the monument. Later, through extensive national discussions, the design of the monument was finalized. By 1952, over a hundred designs had been created by top architects and experts nationwide. After soliciting opinions from people across various sectors and refining the designs, the final blueprint was established.
　　The Construction Committee for the Monument to the People's Heroes was chaired by the Mayor of Beijing, with Zheng Zhenduo and Liang Sicheng serving as vice chairpersons. The committee had an engineering department with seven groups covering design, construction, stone quarrying, and art work, among others. In addition, a special committee was set up under the leadership of Fan Wenlan, director of the Institute of Modern History at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, to research historical themes needed for the relief sculptures. The construction of the monument officially began on August 1, 1952, was completed on April 22, 1958, and was grandly unveiled on May 1 of the same year.

　　Relief Structure

　　　　The Monument to the People's Heroes is situated in the center of Beijing's Tiananmen Square, approximately 463 meters south of Tiananmen and about 440 meters north of Zhengyangmen, along the central north-south axis. With its solemn and majestic presence, it embodies a unique Chinese national style. In the square, it forms a harmonious, unified, and complete architectural complex with Tiananmen and Zhengyangmen. The monument is square-shaped, with a floor area of 3,000 square meters. It consists of three parts: the base, the Sumeru pedestal, and the main body, standing 37.94 meters tall in total. The base has two tiers, surrounded by white marble railings with steps on all four sides. The lower tier is shaped like a crabapple blossom, 50.44 meters wide from east to west and 61.54 meters long from north to south; the upper tier is square. Above the base are two tiers of Sumeru pedestals—large and small—with the upper, smaller one featuring eight floral wreaths around its perimeter, composed of motifs such as peonies, lotuses, chrysanthemums, and drapery. The lower Sumeru pedestal has eight large white marble reliefs embedded in its band around the middle, depicting the following themes: “The Opium Destruction at Humen,” “The Jintian Uprising,” “The Wuchang Uprising,” “The May Fourth Movement,” “The May Thirtieth Movement,” “The Nanchang Uprising,” “The War of Resistance by Guerrillas,” and “The Victorious Crossing of the Yangtze River.” On either side of the “Victorious Crossing of the Yangtze River” relief, there are two decorative reliefs titled “Supporting the Front” and “Welcoming the Chinese People’s Liberation Army.” The reliefs are 2 meters high and 40.68 meters long in total, featuring over 170 carved figures vividly and succinctly portraying the great history of the Chinese people’s struggle against imperialism and feudalism over the past century and especially the 28-year revolutionary struggle under the leadership of the Communist Party of China.

The Monument to the People's Heroes isAAAAA-level attraction

The Monument to the People's Heroes is a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level.

Monument to the People's Heroes

Monument to the People's Heroes

Monument to the People's Heroes