Located at the west side of Tian'anmen Square, this impressive structure is where China's legislature, the National People's Congress assembles for deliberations on state affairs. The hall was built in only 10 months by volunteers in 1958 and 1959. The massive hall is one of the 10 grandest buildings in China.

With floor space of more than 170,000 square meters it houses 300 meeting halls, lounges and offices. Each meeting hall is named after a political division of China and furnished according to the local style. Take the Beijing Meeting Hall, where a huge picture of central Beijing, including the Forbidden City, hangs on the wall.

The National People's Congress meets in the 10,000-seat auditorium annually and its Standing Committee meets in another one of the building's rooms.

Every year, in March, the Great Hall of the People plays host to the liang hui event, where both the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and the National People's Congress meet in sessions lasting for two weeks. The Communist Party of China also holds its plenary session every five years in the central hall, and the event is given plenty of fanfare and attention.

The hall can simultaneously seat all 10,000 representatives of China's parliament while entertaining 5,000 guests in a banquet hall.

Still, most visitors are mainly impressed by the great hall itself and the overt symbolism of its design. Embedded in the ceiling is a large red star the centre of a Communist galaxy of lights.

The Great Hall of the People has been opened to the public in recent years.

Entrance: 30 yuan (US$3.60)

Hours: The visiting hours greatly depend on the meetings scheduled in the hall. If some important national or international meetings are going on in the hall, visitors are usually asked to wait until the meeting ends.

Note: No bags are allowed inside the building, but a bag depository is located outside the East Gate of the Great Hall.

The East Gate is the only place for visitors' entrance.

Guides are available in the hall, but the tour is only in Chinese.

Tel: 63096935 (Chinese only).

(China Daily May 27, 2005)