Along the east side of Tian' anmen Square is a cream building with green and yellow eaves, standing 33 metres high; the north wing used to house the Museum of the Chinese Revolution and the south wing housed the MuSeum of Chinese History.

The China National Museum was officially opened on February 28, 2003 following a merger of the Museum of Chinese History and the Museum of the Chinese Revolution at Tian'anmen Square. The China National Museum will correspond to China's international status and its long history and splendid ancient civilization. Plans to expand the museum have been finalized and work will be finished before 2008 Olympic Games. The floor space of the entire building will be expanded from 65,000 square metres to 150,000 square metres. The former Museum of Chinese History was possessed of more than 400,000 pieces in its collection, and the former Museum of the Chinese Revolution had about 150,000. The combined total is too few for a museum of international standard. The museum will seek ways to enrich the collection, and by 2008 the relics in the museum will reach 1 million. The entire building was built in 1959 to mark the 10th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

South-Facing Gate or Front Gate

This is the South-Facing Gate or Front Gate, a 42-metre-high brick structure. It is located at Qianmen (Front Gate), south of Tian'anmen ( Gate of Heavenly Peace) Square. It is one of the few remaining gates of the city wall. It was built in 1421 in the early Ming Dynasty and renovated in 1977. In the old days, watchtowers placed at regular intervals around the perimeter guarded the wall. The double gate system played an important role in repulsing enemy attacks. If the first gate were breached, the enemy would still find themselves outside the city wall and would be fired upon from the tower over the inner gate. The gate is a fortress-like structure, which was built for the city's defence. It has 94 windows from which archers could shoot arrows. The tower was burned down several times before it was reconstructed in 1914. As a national relic to be protected, it has been renovated according to the 1914 plan. The tourist can visit exhibitions in the three-storey tower. The first storey describes the history of the tower and the second deals with the city gates of ancient Beijing. There are also displays of paintings' and the four treasures of study in ancient China-the writing brushes, ink sticks, ink slabs and paper. The tower was opened to the public on January 21 st, 1990, adding another scenic spot in Beijing. The Front Gate was the pass the emperor used for travel to the Temple of Heaven for worshipping ceremonies. Only the imperial sedans and carriages were allowed to use the gate. while funeral processions and carriages were forbidden to pass here.

The Arrdw Castle was built in 1439. The castle has 82 windows from which archers could shoot arrows. It was destroyed by fire in 1780 and 1849 respectively, but was reconstructed twice. In 1900, the gate was sabotaged and the Eight-Power Allied Forces burnt down the castle. They were revamped according to their original design. In 1916, the enceinte of a city gate was demonished. On February 3, 1949, Beiping (today'sBeijing) was liberated peacefully, the People's Liberation Army men held the city entrance ceremony at the gate. The gate was reinforced in 1952, and the castle was revamped in 1976; in 1977.the gate was repaired again, thus the gate and the castle have taken on a completely new look.

China National Theatre

Construction of China Grand National Theatre officially started on December 12, 2001 after four years preparation and will be completed in 2005. Some revisions have been made to the original plan to reduce costs and construction area. The current estimated cost of the project is 2.688 billion yuan (US $ 325 million), substantially less than the original 3 billion yuan (US$ 362 million). The reduction in cost comes mainly from the cancellation of the complex's theatre, which will leave it with a 2, 500-seat opera house, mainly receiving world-renowned operas and ballet companies; a 2,000-seat concert hall, the site of concerts of symphony and traditional Chinese music; a 1,200-seat theatre for modern drama, Peking Opera and other local Chinese operas and art galleries. Total construction area has been cut from the original 180,000 square metres to 149,500 square metres, because the 30,000 square metre parking lot, originally included in the plan, is going to be built separately. This new underground parking lot will provide the entire Tian'anmen Square area with its first major parking lot. When the parking lot is finished, it will be able to accommodate 1,000 vehicles and 1,400 bicycles. Parking will no longer be a headache when there are major activities in the square.

Located on the west side of the Great Hall of the People in downtown Beijing, the theatre will be built to a modernistic design by French architect Paul Andreu . Although the theatre will not be the world's mostluxurious, will present "some pleasant surprises:" some of the world's best performance facilities.The entire design insisted on the creation theme of "a theatre within the city and a city within the theatre. "

The theatre will be China's largest, as well as its first comprehensive and multi-functional theatre. The design should bring home at sight that it is a theatre, nothing else, with Chinese characteristics and in harmony with the other buildings in Tian'anmen Square. The building's height shall not exceed 45 metres, keeping it below the height of the Great Hall of the People.