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Tian'anmen Square is a large city square in the center of Beijing, named after the Tian'anmen (Gate of Heavenly Peace) located to the North of the square and separating it from the Forbidden City. Tian'anmen Square is the third largest city square in the world (440, 000 m2). It has great cultural significance as it is the site of several important events in Chinese history.天安门广场位于中国北京市中心，是一个巨大的城市广场。其命名源于天安门，天安门处在广场北面，将广场与紫禁城分隔开来。天安门广场是世界第三大城市广场(占地440，000平方米)。天安门广场见证了许多中国历***的重大事件，具有文化价值。
The Tian'anmen, Gate to the Forbidden City, was built in 1415 during the Ming Dynasty. Towards the demise of the Ming Dynasty, heavy fighting between Li Zicheng and the early Qing emperor damaged (or perhaps destroyed) the gate. The Tian'anmen Square was designed and built in 1651 and has since then enlarged several times its original size.紫禁城的门户——天安门建于明朝，公元1415年。到了明朝末期，李自成与前清皇帝之间的争斗损毁(乃至破坏)了城门。天安门广场于1651年设计建造，此后经历了数次的改、扩建。
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Near the center of today's square, stood the “Great Ming Gate”, the southern gate to the Imperial City. It was renamed “Great Qing Gate” during the Qing Dynasty and “Gate of China” during the Republic of China era. Unlike the other gates in Beijing, such as the Tian'anmen and the Qianmen, this was a purely ceremonial gateway, with three arches but no ramparts, similar in style to the ceremonial gateways found in the Ming Dynasty Tombs. This gate had a special status as the “Gate of the Nation”that can be seen from its successive names. It normally remained closed, except when the Emperor passed through. Commoner traffic was diverted to two side gates at the western and eastern ends of today's square, respectively. Because of this diversion in traffic, a busy marketplace, called Chessgrid Streets, developed in the south of this gate.今天天安门广场中心附近矗立着紫禁城的南门，原名“大明门”，清军入关以后更名为“大清门”，民国时期又更名为“中华门”。与北京其他城门比如天安门和前门不同的是，这仅仅是一道礼仪性的城门，有三架拱桥，但却没有城墙，与明朝墓葬的装饰性大门构造类似。这道门地位特殊，象征着“国家之门”，这一点从其名字的传承上就可以看出来。通常这道门是关闭的，除非皇帝通过，平民则是分别从广场东西两边的侧门通过。正是由于这种交通上的区分，这道门的南边形成了繁华的集市“棋盘街”。
British and French troops who invaded Beijing in 1860 pitched camp near the gate and briefly considered burning down the gate and the entire Forbidden City. They decided ultimately to spare the palace and to burn instead the emperor's Old Summer Palace.1860年英法联军入侵北京时驻扎在此门附近，就曾打算烧掉天安门及整个紫禁城。但这个念头很快打消了，他们最终转而放火烧掉了皇帝的夏宫——圆明园。
The Qing emperor eventually agreed to let the foreign powers barrack troops - and later establish diplomatic missions - in the area, resulting in the Legation Quarter to the east of the modern square. During the Boxer Rebellion of 1900, the fights badly damaged the office complexes and several ministries were burnt down. In the conflict's denouement, the area became a space for foreign troops to assemble their armies and horses.最终清朝帝王应允外国在华驻军——后来又允许其建立***，最终形成了现在广场东边的***区。1900年义和团运动爆发，交战严重损毁了一些办事机构，一些政府衙门被烧毁。义和团运动被镇压之后，这里成了外国军队驻军之所。
In the early 1950s, the Gate of China was demolished for the enlargement of the square. In November 1958 a major expansion of Tian'anmen Square started, which was completed after only 11 months in August 1959. This followed the vision of Mao Zedong to make the square the largest and most spectacular in the world and intended to hold over 500, 000 people. In that process a large number of residential buildings and other structures had been demolished. On its southern edge, the Monument to the People's Heroes was erected. Concomitantly, as part of the Ten Great Buildings constructed between 1958-59 to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the People's Republic of China, the Great Hall of the People and the Revolutionary History Museum (now National Museum of China) were built on the western and eastern sides of the square.20世纪50年代早期，为了扩建天安门广场，中华门被拆除了。1958年11月，天安门广场开始大规模扩建，历时仅仅11个月，1959年8月扩建工程完工。此次扩建是根据毛泽东主席指示，要将天安门建成世界较大、最宏伟的广场，足以容纳五十多万人。扩建过程中，许多居民楼及其他建筑遭到拆迁。在广场南端树立起人民英雄纪念碑。此外，1958年至1959年间为了纪念中华人民共和国成立十周年建立的十大建筑还包括广场西面的人民大会堂和东面的革命历史博物馆(即现在的国家博物馆)。
The year after Mao's death in 1976 the Mausoleum was built near the site of the former Gate of China on the main north-south axis of the square. In connection with this project, the square was further increased in size to become fully rectangular and being able to accommodate 600, 000 people.1977年，也就是毛主席去世(1976)后次年，原中华门旧址上兴建毛主席纪念堂，正坐落于天安门广场的南北主轴线上。同期，天安门广场再次扩建，成为矩形，足以容纳60万人。
The surrounding of the square was altered in the 1990s with the construction of National Grand Theatre and the expansion of the National Museum in its vicinity.20世纪90年代，由于国家大剧院的建造和国家博物馆的扩建，天安门广场的周边环境发生了改变。
北京长城 The Great Wall
天坛 The Temple of Heaven
故宫 Forbidden City(Palace Museum)
香山公园 Fragrant Hills Park