Beijing Shejitan

The Zhongshan Park (Chinese: 中山公园/中山公園) was a former imperial altar and now a public park that lies just southwest of the Forbidden City in the Imperial City, Beijing. Of all the gardens and parks surrounding the Forbidden City, such as the Beihai and Jingshan, Zhongshan is arguably the most centrally located of them all. The Zhongshan Park houses numerous pavilions, gardens, and imperial temples such as the Altar of Earth and Harvests or Altar of Land and Grain in some translations (Shejitan, 社稷坛), which was built in 1421 by the Yongle Emperor, and it symmetrically opposite the Imperial Ancestral Temple, and it's where the emperors of Ming and Qing dynasties made offerings to the gods of earth and agriculture. The altar consists of a square terrace in the centre of the park. By 1914, the altar grounds had become a public park known as the "Central Park". That park was then renamed in 1928 after Sun Yat-Sen (Zhongshan Park), in memory of China's first revolutionary political leader who helped bring about the first republic era in 1911, which is what the park is known as today. Many parks in China during that period also took on this name (see Zhongshan Park). The Zhongshan Park includes various halls and pavilions built for the members of the imperial family, stone archways and a greenhouse which houses fresh flowers on display all year round. The greenhouse includes 39 varieties of tulips presented to the park in 1977 by the Princess of Holland.

Duanmen, also known as the Gate of Uprightness, or Upright Gate, is a gate in Beijing's Imperial City, and is located south of the Forbidden City. Proceeding north from the entrance to the Imperial City, it is the next gate after the Tian'anmen, or Gate of Heavenly Peace, and has a similar structure to that gate. The next gate further north is the Meridian Gate, which is the southern and main gate to the Forbidden City itself.

The Meridian Gate or Wumen (simplified Chinese: 午门; traditional Chinese: 午門; pinyin: Wǔmén; Manchu: ᠵᡠᠯᡝᡵᡤᡳᡩᡠᠯᡳᠮᠪᠠᡳᡩᡠᡴᠠ; Möllendorff: julergi dulimbai duka) is the southern and largest gate of the Forbidden City in Beijing, China. Unlike the other gates of the Forbidden City, the Meridian Gate has two protruding arms on either side, derived from ancient que towers traditionally used to decorate the main entrances of palaces, temples and tombs. The gate has five arches. The three central arches are close together in the main, central section; the two flanking arches are farther apart from the three central arches, and are located between the central section and the protruding arms. The centre arch was formerly reserved for the Emperor alone; the exceptions were the Empress, who could enter it once on the day of her wedding, and the top three scholars of the triennial civil service examinations, who left the exams through the central arch. All other officials and servants had to use the four side arches. A series of buildings form the superstructure of the gate. The central one is a pavilion of nine bays wide, with double eaves. On each of the protruding side, a 13 bays-long building with a single eave, connects the two pyramidal-roofed pavilions that represented the que towers. Its superstructure is also called the "Five Phoenix Turrets" because it is composed of five buildings. Imperial proclamations and almanacs were issued from the gate house. After successful campaigns, the Emperor received prisoners of war here, sometimes followed by mass decapitations.Although urban myth has it that senior officers were executed here in Imperial China; in reality only corporal punishment was actually carried out. Behind the viewer is Upright Gate, the principal entrance to the imperial palace grounds. When proceeding northward through the palace grounds, the next major gate encountered is the Gate of Supreme Harmony.

The Gate of Supreme Harmony (simplified Chinese: 太和门; traditional Chinese: 太和門; pinyin: Tàihémén; Manchu: ᠠᠮᠪᠠᡥᡡᠸᠠᠯᡳᠶᠠᠮᠪᡠᡵᡝᡩᡠᡴᠠ; Möllendorff: amba hūwaliyambure duka) is the second major gate in the south of the Forbidden City in Beijing, China. The gate was originally built during the Ming dynasty, when it was called Fengtianmen (奉天門). Following the Manchu conquest of China, the gate was given its present Chinese and Manchu names. The gate burned down in 1886 due to a fire started by a tipped lamp in the guard room. The present gate dates from the rebuilding after this fire, which was completed in 1894. In the Ming dynasty, the Emperor held morning court sessions at the Gate of Supreme Harmony to discuss state affairs with his ministers, although throughout most of the Ming dynasty the court sessions were purely ceremonial, a demonstration of the Emperor's diligence and the status of the titular first minister. In the Qing dynasty, when the Emperor attended court far more frequently, morning court sessions were held at the Gate of Heavenly Purity, which is much closer to the Emperor's living quarters. The Gate of Supreme Harmony was used occasionally for banquets and other ceremonies. The gate is three bays deep and seven bays wide, covering a total area of 1,371.4 square metres (14,762 sq ft). It is flanked by two minor gates, Zhendu Gate to the west and Zhaode Gate to the east. The gate and the Meridian Gate form the north and south boundaries of a great plaza that is divided by a serpentine waterway, the Inner River of the Golden Water, which is spanned by a set of five bridges. On the north (inner) side of the gate is Harmony Square, leading to the grand Hall of Supreme Harmony, the ceremonial centre of the Forbidden City. Many incense burners are arrayed around the stairs. The central stairway was reserved exclusively for the Emperor and his immediate attendants, as was the central entrance of Meridian Gate.

The 40th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China took place on 1 October 1989. The event was held at the Great Hall of the People and Tiananmen Square in Beijing, More than 10,000 party and state leaders and people from all professions in the capital attended the event. Due to the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre that year, the planned National Day military parade was cancelled.At 3 p.m., Jiang Zemin, General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, Yang Shangkun, President of the PRC, Li Peng, Premier of the PRC, Wan Li, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Qiao Shi, Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, Yao Yilin, Vice Premier of the PRC, Song Ping, Director of the CCP Organization Department, Li Ruihuan, Secretary of the CCP Secretariat, State Vice President Wang Zhen and other party and state leaders came to the Great Hall of the People. Yang Shangkun, President of the People's Republic of China, announced the start of the "Celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China".Subsequently, Jiang Zemin delivered a speech. He pointed out that it is necessary to prevent and correct the problem of unfair social distribution. And it is proposed to strengthen the party building, so that the adherence to the four basic principles and the adherence to reform and opening up are unified.On the evening of 1 October 1989, people from all professions in the capital also held a "Gala Party for Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China" in Tiananmen Square. In the front of the Gate, a large national flag with the year number "1949" and "1989" on both sides was appeared. The Military Band of the Chinese People's Liberation Army played the "National Anthem of the People's Republic of China".

The 10th anniversary celebrations of founding of the People's Republic of China were held on 1 October 1959. The main event was held in Tiananmen Square in Beijing. A grand banquet with many international dignitaries had been organized on the preceding evening.

The National Day Parade (Chinese: 国庆阅兵), officially the National Day of the People's Republic of China Parade (Chinese: 中华人民共和国国庆阅兵), is a civil-military parade event held at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, the capital of the People's Republic of China, on the National Day of the People's Republic of China on 1 October. It is organized by the People's Liberation Army, the People's Armed Police and the Militia, as well as civilian groups of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It has been held every decade since 1959, annually from 1950 to 1959, and has been broadcast live on China Central Television since 1984.The most recent National Day parade took place on October 1, 2019, on the 70th anniversary of the People's Republic of China.

The 35th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China took place on 1 October 1984. A military parade was held in Tiananmen Square in Beijing and various celebrations were conducted all over the country. China's paramount leader Deng Xiaoping inspected the troops along Chang'an Avenue in Beijing. This parade was immediately followed by a civilian parade.

The 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China (Chinese: 庆祝中华人民共和国成立70周年) was observed with a series of ceremonial events including a grand military parade as its spotlight to celebrate National Day of the People's Republic of China that took place on 1 October 2019 in Beijing. It was the largest military parade and mass pageant in Chinese history.Chinese Communist Party (CCP) general secretary Xi Jinping, who was the guest of honour, gave the holiday address to the nation and Chinese expatriates before inspecting the formations along Chang'an Avenue. Premier Li Keqiang was the master of ceremonies and General Yi Xiaoguang was the chief commander of the parade.

The Tiananmen (also Tian'anmen (天安门), Tienanmen, T’ien-an Men; [tʰjɛ́n.án.mə̌n]), or the Gate of Heaven-Sent Pacification, is a monumental gate in the city center of Beijing, China, the front gate of the Imperial City of Beijing, located near the city's Central Business District, and widely used as a national symbol. 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, and is separated from the plaza by Chang'an Avenue.

Celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party (Chinese: 中国共产党成立100周年庆祝活动), or the Centennial of the Chinese Communist Party (Chinese: 中国共产党成立一百周年), were held on 1 July 2021 in Beijing to celebrate the centennial of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which has been the sole governing political party of the People's Republic of China (PRC) since 1949. CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping, as the guest of honor, delivered a speech and presented the Order of July the First order of honour to CCP members who have made significant contributions. Premier Li Keqiang served as the official host of the event. Similar celebrations were scheduled nationwide in mainland China, the Macau Special Administrative Region, and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, coinciding with the 24th anniversary of the handover from the United Kingdom on the same day.

The 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China took place on 1 October 2009. A military parade involving 10,000 troops and the display of many high-tech weapons was held in Tiananmen Square in Beijing and various celebrations were conducted all over the country. China's paramount leader Hu Jintao inspected the troops along Chang'an Avenue in Beijing. This parade was immediately followed by a civilian parade involving 100,000 participants.