The first stop for any visitor to Beijing is Tian'anmen Square . Physically at the city's centre, symbolically it's the heart of China, and the events it has witnessed have shaped the history of the People's Republic from its inception. Chairman Mao lies here in his marble mausoleum , with the Great Hall of the People to the west and the Museum of the Chinese Revolution to the east. Monumental architecture that's much, much older lies just to the north - the Forbidden City of the Emperors , now open to all.