Tiananmen Square has served as the backdrop for pivotal moments in modern Chinese history:
On the night of June 3 and the early hours of June 4, the People's Liberation Army advanced with tanks and armed troops to clear the square.
The day after the crackdown, on June 5, 1989, an unidentified man famously stood alone in the middle of Chang’an Avenue to block a column of tanks. This image of became a global symbol of nonviolent resistance.