in size.

In 1954, the Gate of China was demolished to enlarge the square, and in November 1958, a major expansion of Tiananmen 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, as it was intended to hold over 500,000 people. During this process, a large number of residential buildings and other structures were demolished. On