The Great Hall of the People at night. Photo by N509FZ. Wikimedia Commons.

Top 10 Facts about The Great Hall of the people


 

The Great Hall of the People is a state building located at the western edge of Tiananmen Square in Beijing. It is used for legislative and ceremonial activities by the government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the ruling Chinese Communist Party.

 The People’s Great Hall functions as the meeting place for the full sessions of the National People’s Congress (NPC), the Chinese legislature, which occurs every year during March along with the national session of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), a political advisory body.

The monolithic 1950s’ Soviet-designed Great Hall Of The People is located on the west side of Tiananmen Square. Here are the Top 10 Facts about The Great Hall of the people.

1. The Great Hall was opened in 1959

The Great Hall of the People under construction. Photo by Unknown Author. Wikimedia Commons.

The Great Hall of the People was opened in September 1959 as one of the “Ten Great Constructions” completed for the 10th Anniversary of the PRC. The decision to build the Hall was made by the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee in August 1958. Deng Xiaoping wrote the inscription for the name of this grand building.

2. A couple of designs for the building were brought forth

After design proposals were submitted, a group of architects from across the country chose the winning design by Zhao Dongri and Shen Qi. Zhang Bo was appointed as the chief architect. Zhou Enlai believed the final design should give the message that “the people are the masters of the country”

3. It’s construction took 10 months

The construction took 10 months, 7,785 workers and was fashioned with military-like strategies that emulated the Great Leap Forward.

More than 30,000 people took part in the construction of the Great Hall in groups, among whom there were 7,000 first-rate technicians and workers from 20 provinces. This magnificent structure was completed within a period of ten months from November 1958 to September 1959.

4. It was designed to symbolize national unity

The Great Hall of the People with flags. Photo by wiki little master. Wikimedia Commons.

Designed to symbolize the national unity and ethnic equality of the nation, the Great Hall embodied the new Chinese character of time in its features, proportion and details.

The building covers 171,801 square meters (1,849,239 sq. ft) of floor space, it is 356 meters in length and 206.5 meters in width. The centre’s highest point reaches 46.5 meters. At the eaves of the main gate hangs the national emblem of the PRC.

5. The Great Hall has been renovated several times

In the past four decades, it has been renovated for several times and more bright wisdom and creativeness have been contributed to it each time.

While maintaining its peculiar style, the designers have added artistic charm characteristic of the vitality of the times to this structure, which can aptly manifest the brilliant achievements made in economic and cultural construction of the People’s Republic.

6. The Great Hall was built because after the congress couldn’t fit in a small venue

Attended a banquet here in 2009. Complete indexed photo collection at WorldHistoryPics.com. Photo by Gary Todd from Xinzheng, China. Wikimedia Commons.

In 1954, the first National People’s Congress was held, but only  about 1,200 deputies attended the conference due to the small meeting venue. Building a larger meeting place seemed an urgent task. Soon after, CPC Chairman Mao Zedong came up with the idea of building an auditorium for 10,000 people.

“The Great Hall of the People was a great breakthrough at that time in terms of scale,” said Mi Junren, vice chief architect of the Institute of Architecture and Environmental Art Design.

7. The Great Hall of the People is simply magnificent!

The Great Hall of the People embodies the highest technical level of architecture, acoustics, lighting, and sound. “It was not an easy job to build a structure with a floor area of 170,000 square meters. Another important highlight is the halls inside, such as the grand auditorium, which can hold 10,000 people.

There isn’t another auditorium as big in the world today.” Mi Junren, vice chief architect of the Institute of Architecture and Environmental Art Design. “The most wonderful design of the auditorium is the ceiling,” said Mi. “We can see elements like the pentacle stars, sunflowers, and water ripples.”

8. It has hosted more than 3,000 meetings

Statistics show that the hall has already hosted more than 3,000 meetings and various important activities, including the annual plenary sessions of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

The hall is also a place where Chinese leaders meet foreign dignitaries. The largest meeting room in the hall offers 10,000 seats, and its largest banquet hall can serve 5,000 guests at any one time. In addition, more than 300 other rooms are available for meetings, leisure or office purposes.

9. It is used to host state funerals

The Great Hall has been used for the state funerals and memorial services for several top leaders. Former President Liu Shaoqi was purged during the Cultural Revolution and died in the ensuing struggles.

He was posthumously rehabilitated after 1978. In 1982 Liu was granted a state funeral held at the Great Hall. The Great Hall also held the funerals of General Secretary Hu Yaobang in 1989 during the Tiananmen Square protests, as well as the memorial service for paramount leader Deng Xiaoping in 1997.

10. Tourists are allowed to tour the Great Hall

A banquet held at the Great Hall pf the People in 2009. Complete indexed photo collection at WorldHistoryPics.com. Photo by Gary Todd from Xinzheng, China. Wikimedia Commons.

The building and its main “Great Auditorium” are open to the public as a tourist attraction when it is not in use. Some non-political conventions and concerts have also been held in the Great Hall.

In October 2003, Riverdance, the Irish music and dance entertainment phenomenon, was the first show from the West to perform in the Great Hall of the People, Beijing. They had eleven sold-out performances. The Great Hall of the People is a sight to behold!

 

 

 

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