Chairman Mao Memorial Hall

halmester's picture

Location

Beijing
China
39° 54' 9.27" N, 116° 23' 51.882" E
CN
General info: 

The Chairman Mao Memorial Hall or the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong is the final resting place of Mao Zedong. He was the founding father of the People's Republic of China which he governed as Chairman of the Communist Party of China from its establishment in 1949 until his death in 1976.

A controversial figure, Mao is regarded as one of the most important individuals in modern world history. Supporters regard him as a great leader and credit him with numerous accomplishments including modernizing China and building it into a world power, promoting the status of women, improving education and health care, providing universal housing, and increasing life expectancy. Maoists furthermore promote his role as theorist, statesman, poet, and visionary. In contrast, critics have characterized him as a dictator who oversaw systematic human rights abuses, and whose rule is estimated to have contributed to the deaths of 40–70 million people through starvation, forced labor and executions, ranking his tenure as the top incidence of democide in human history.

After his death his body was embalmed and construction of a mausoleum began shortly. 700,000 people throughout China were involved in the design and construction of the mausoleum and the mausoleum was completed on May 24, 1977. Chairman Mao rests in the mausoleum inside a crystal coffin.

Getting there: 

Subway:
Line 1: Get off at Tiananmen East or Tiananmen West Station, and Chairman Mao Memorial Hall is to the south.
Line 2: Get off at Qianmen Station, and Chairman Mao Memorial Hall is to the north.

Costs: 

Admission: Free

Opening Hours:
8:00 to 12:00 from Tuesday to Sunday
08:00 to 11:30 & 14:00 to 16:00 on Sep. 9 (the day Chairman Mao passed away) and Dec. 26 (the birthday of Chairman Mao)

You might be interested in

The Airbus headquarters are located in Toulouse, France, but the company has factories all around the world. One of them is located in Hamburg and has become an important attraction in the last couple of years.

Hamburg has two artificial lakes in its main area, the Außenalster and the Binnenalster, which are commonly referred as the Alster lakes.

Hamburg port is one of the biggest and oldest in Europe. It’s been around as much as Hamburg and thus is one of the most important parts of the city.

Built in the late 19th century, GUM shopping mall served as one of the favorite market places for Moscow citizens in the Soviet era. Nowadays, it is owned by a Russian billionaire and the prices are on that level.

Since the 18th century, the Nevsky Prospect has been the main street in St. Petersburg. Planned, by the city’s namesake himself – Peter the Great, was the main road to Moscow in the past.

The Hermitage is the biggest art museum in Russia and is one of the must-visit places in St. Petersburg.