Tiananmen Square

Tiananmen Square was built during the Ming Dynasty in the 1420s. The large plaza is located in Beijing, China, and until 1911 the general public was not allowed on the grounds, as it was reserved for the royal family and aristocrats.TravelChinaGuide: Tiananmen Square (Gate of Heavenly Peace)

May 30, 2009, marked the 20 year anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, also known as the Tiananmen Square massacre. The protesters at the time were mainly pro-democratic students, and occurred in a year that saw anti-communist revolutions in Poland, Germany and Czechoslovakia.The New York Times: Tiananmen Square, 20 Years Later (May 30, 2009)

The pro-democracy protests that culminated in Tiananmen Square in 1989 were sparked by the death of Hu Yaobang, the leader of the People's Republic of China from 1982 to 1987. Although no authority took claim of starting the protests, or coordinating the assembly, more than 100,000 people gathered in the square calling for democratic reform. Although peaceful protests took place throughout the country, Tiananmen Square became the site of a violent eruption that left 241 people dead, and 7,000 wounded according to the Chinese government.Frontline: The Memory of Tiananmen 1989