The Tiananmen Gate, also known as the 'Gate of Heavenly Peace', was constructed in 1417 during the Ming dynasty. It served as an important entrance to the Imperial City.

Tiananmen Square was designed and built in 1651, and later expanded in the 1950s. It has been the site of various significant events in Chinese history.

Mao Zedong declared the establishment of the People's Republic of China in Tiananmen Square on October 1, 1949. This event marked the official beginning of the communist rule in China.

Incident that occurred on April 5, 1976, in Tiananmen.

Pro-democracy demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square, Beijing in 1989, which were brutally suppressed by the Chinese government, leading to a significant international outcry.

Chinese students gathered in Tiananmen Square on April 15 to commemorate the death of Hu Yaobang, a pro-reform leader. What started as a tribute to Hu Yaobang turned into a platform for broader protests against the government, marking the beginning of the Tiananmen Square demonstrations.

On the night of 17 April, three thousand PKU students marched towards Tiananmen Square, joined by nearly a thousand students from Tsinghua. The gathering evolved into a protest with students drafting the Seven Demands, including calls for democracy, freedom, and an end to press censorship.

Demonstrations escalate in Beijing and spread to other cities and universities. Workers and officials join in with complaints about inflation, salaries, and housing. Party leaders fear chaos and rebellion.

Students march to Zhongnanhai, the residence of government leaders, for a sit-in demonstration. Tensions rise as students and police clash during the protest.

On the evening of 21 April, around 100,000 students marched on Tiananmen Square despite orders for closure due to Hu Yaobang's funeral. The funeral, attended by the leadership, was broadcast live, but students demanded to see Premier Li Peng, leading to emotional scenes and disappointment.

Following the death of Hu and his transformation into a martyr for political liberalization, tens of thousands of students gathered in Tiananmen Square demanding democratic and other reforms. The protests escalated over the next several weeks, drawing a wide variety of individuals seeking political, social, and economic reforms.

On 23 April, the Beijing Students' Autonomous Federation (Union) was formed by students from 21 universities, electing Zhou Yongjun as chair. This independent organization called for a general classroom boycott, causing concern among the leadership.

During a Politburo meeting called by Li Peng in the absence of Zhao Ziyang, Party members hostile to the students persuade Deng Xiaoping that the students are aiming to overthrow the Communist Party. Deng decides it is time to take action against the protests.

On April 26, 1989, despite official claims of an organized conspiracy, over 150,000 students defied police lines and returned to Tiananmen Square to continue their protests for democracy.

On April 27, organized by the Union, some 50,000–100,000 students from all Beijing universities marched through the streets to Tiananmen Square, breaking through police lines. The students presented a message of 'anti-corruption' and 'anti-cronyism', but 'pro-party', leading to widespread public support.

Party leaders are divided on how to address the growing foreign media coverage of the protests. Zhao Ziyang's faction advocates negotiation and addressing legitimate grievances, while Li Peng's group emphasizes restoring social stability before considering reforms.

Zhao Ziyang returned from Pyongyang on April 30 and reasserted his authority, adopting a conciliatory tone towards the student movement. He believed that the hardliner approach was ineffective and advocated for concessions.

On May 3-4, Zhao Ziyang delivered speeches supporting the students' concerns about corruption and patriotism of the movement, contradicting the message of the April 26 Editorial. This further escalated tensions within the government.

Tens of thousands of students assemble in Tiananmen Square on May 4, 1989, demanding greater freedom of speech and democracy. They commemorate the 70th anniversary of the 1919 May Fourth Movement and pledge to return to classes while continuing to push for reforms.

Between May 5 and May 12, the student movement experiences a lack of clear leadership and internal divisions. Some factions plan further demonstrations and a hunger strike, while Party tensions rise ahead of Mikhail Gorbachev's visit to Beijing.

On May 13, students in Beijing initiated hunger strikes as a tactic to pressure the government into meeting their demands. The hunger strike gained widespread sympathy and support, attracting hundreds of thousands to Tiananmen Square.

Intellectuals led by Dai Qing gained permission to air progressive views in Guangming Daily and issued an urgent appeal for students to deescalate the conflict by leaving the square, but many students believed they were speaking for the government and refused to move.

Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev's impending state visit on May 15 heightened the protests in Tiananmen Square. The visit attracted foreign media attention and increased international awareness of the protesters' demands.

More than 3,000 people are participating in the hunger strike in China. Zhao Ziyang suggests that the government should retract its editorial, accept students' demand for dialogue, and initiate reforms to end the strike.

On 17 May, Deng Xiaoping made the decision to move troops into Beijing and declare martial law in response to the escalating student protests. This decision was seen as a show of the government's firm stance against the demonstrations.

Close to 1 million people march to the Square to show support for the hunger strike.

Students and citizens successfully stop troops from entering Tiananmen Square.

For the first time in 40 years of Communist rule, the PLA troops attempt to occupy Beijing. A huge number of civilian protestors block their convoys on the streets. Beijingers begin a dialogue with the soldiers, trying to explain to them why they shouldn’t be there. The soldiers have been ordered not to fire on civilians, even if provoked. They are stuck — unable to reach the protestors in Tiananmen Square and unable to withdraw from the city — for almost three days.

An essay titled 'The Counter-Revolution' was likely published or circulated on May 22, 1989.

After a period of tension, the troops are finally able to leave Tiananmen Square. However, the government sees this as a challenge to its power and prepares to take a strong stand against the protesters.

Over 300,000 people gathered at Happy Valley Racecourse for a concert supporting democracy in China. The event was followed by a massive procession of 1.5 million people in Hong Kong, showing solidarity with the Beijing students.

The 'Goddess of Democracy' statue is erected in Tiananmen Square.

Li Peng issued a report accusing the demonstrators' leadership of organizing and plotting the turmoil in Tiananmen Square, with alleged connections to criminal elements and foreign funding for weapons. The report recommended swift and decisive measures to suppress the protests.

Deng Xiaoping and party elders met to discuss clearing Tiananmen Square, agreeing to restore order and halt the protests. They planned for a peaceful clearance of the square, but authorized the use of force if necessary.

On June 3, 1989, in Beijing, as troops approached the city, Beijingers blocked them by setting up barricades. Near the Muxidi apartment buildings, citizens became aggressive as the army tried to break through, leading to soldiers firing on unarmed civilians with AK-47s, resulting in a high number of casualties.

Chinese government crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square, resulting in numerous deaths and injuries.

On June 5th, a lone protester famously stood in front of a column of tanks leaving Tiananmen Square, an iconic image of peaceful resistance against the Chinese government's crackdown on the protests.

State Council spokesperson Yuan Mu announced that nearly 300 people died in the Tiananmen Square protests, including soldiers, students, individuals labeled as 'bad elements', and those killed by mistake. He also mentioned the number of wounded, including police officers, soldiers, and civilians.

Deng Xiaoping, in his first public appearance since the protests began, praised the PLA soldiers who died, accused protesters of aiming to overthrow the party and establish a Western-dependent bourgeois republic, and criticized their motives for protesting against corruption.

On June 13, 1989, the Beijing Public Security Bureau issued an arrest order for 21 student leaders identified as the key figures in the Tiananmen Square protests. These students were part of the Beijing Students Autonomous Federation and were considered the most-wanted by the Chinese government.

In 1990, Chinese leader Jiang Zemin stated that he did not believe the Tank Man was killed during the Tiananmen Square protests.

After being initially arrested in January 1991, Zhang Zhiqing, one of the 21 most-wanted student leaders, essentially disappeared. His current whereabouts and situation remain unknown.

Bao Tong, Zhao Ziyang's aide, was convicted in 1992 of 'revealing state secrets and counter-revolutionary propagandizing' connected to the 1989 demonstrations. He served seven years in prison.

A monument with a height of 8 meters, created by sculptor Jens Galschiøt, was placed at the University of Hong Kong in memory of the events of Tiananmen Square. It was later removed on 22 December 2021 by the university authorities, sparking condemnation from survivors of the massacre.

Before his death in 1998, Yang Shangkun admitted to an army doctor that the events of 4 June 1989 were a serious mistake by the Communist Party, expressing regret over the handling of the Tiananmen Square protests.

The Tiananmen Mothers' tally of victims grew from 155 in 1999 to 202 in 2011. The group, co-founded by Ding Zilin and Zhang Xianling, whose children were killed by the government during the crackdown, has been dedicated to identifying and honoring those who lost their lives.

The Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident occurred in 2001.

In 2005, the Chinese government made a payment to Tang Deying, the mother of a Tiananmen victim, as a form of 'hardship assistance'. This marked the first publicized case of the government offering redress to a victim's family related to the Tiananmen Square protests.

In January 2006, Google agreed to censor their mainland China site to remove information about Tiananmen and other sensitive subjects as requested by the Chinese authorities.

During its 41st session in November 2008, the UN Committee Against Torture raised concerns about the lack of investigations into the suppression of the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989, urging the Chinese government to offer apologies, reparation, and prosecute those responsible for excessive force and ill-treatment.

In January 2010, Google decided to stop censoring search results in China, including information about Tiananmen, after facing criticism for complying with Chinese government censorship requests.

The Tiananmen Mothers, a victims' advocacy group co-founded by Ding Zilin and Zhang Xianling, have identified 202 victims of the government crackdown as of August 2011. Despite government interference, the group has painstakingly worked to locate victims' families and gather information about the victims.

A disputed cable from 2017 claimed that a minimum of 10,000 civilians died during the Tiananmen Square protests, a number significantly higher than other estimates. Subsequent revisions reduced the estimate to 2,700–3,400 deaths.

In 2023, over 20 people, including Activist Alexandra Wong, were detained by police on the 34th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown for 'breaching the peace'.