National Parliament Building of China | Symbols of China
The Great Hall of the People is the Official National Parliament Building of China. It is located at The Western Edge of Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The designer of The Great Hall of the People is Zhang Bo. The Building is used for legislative and ceremonial activities by the government. It has absorbed both Chinese and foreign architectural influences, and it also presents a distinct national style.
The Great Hall of the People is located on the west of Tiananmen Square. It is opposite of the Museum of Chinese Revolution and the Museum of Chinese History on the east. It was built on a site previously occupied by Taichang Temple, the Jinyiwei (Ming dynasty secret service), and the Ministry of Justice.
One of Mao’s ’10 Great Buildings’ built-in 1959 to commemorate 10 years of the People’s Republic of China, the Great Hall of the People stares out across Tian’anmen Sq at another of its kind, the National Museum of China – originally the China Revolutionary History Museum. On the north and the south are located Tiananmen and Zhengyang Gate. Tiananmen Square is the world’s largest open square and surrounded by all these buildings.
The Great Hall of the People consists of three sections. The central section principally includes the Great Auditorium, the Main Auditorium, the Congress Hall (Standing Committee of SCPCC meets in conference), the Central Hall, the Golden Hall, and other main halls. The northern section consists of the State Banquet Hall, the Salute State Guest Hall, the North Hall, the East Hall, the West Hall, and other large halls. The southern part is the office building of the Standing Committee of the People’s Congress of China.
Facts & Figures
Each province, special administrative region, an autonomous region of China have its own hall in the Great Hall. Some Halls are Beijing Hall, Hong Kong Hall, and Hainan Hall. Each hall has the unique characteristics of the province according to the local style.
The Great Auditorium of the Hall, with a volume of 90,000 cubic meters, seats 3,693 in the lower auditorium, 3,515 in the balcony, 2,518 in the gallery, and 300 to 500 on the dais. The largest meeting room in the hall offers 10,000 seats. 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.
