Photo Gallery

Great Hall of the People (built 1958-59)

The Great Hall was built in ten months by communist volunteers during 1958 and 1959. Containing more floor area than the Forbidden City, the Hall can simultaneously seat all 10,000 representatives of China's parliament while entertaining 5,000 guests in a banquet hall. Many of the ancillary rooms are named after regions of China and decorated in the local style. Still, most visitors are impressed mainly by the great hall itself and the overt symbolism of its design: on the roof is a great red star—the center of a communist galaxy of lights. The Great Hall is located across the street from the west side of Tiananmen square.