The Great Hall of the People
3 min readThe Great Hall of the People
The Great Hall of the People is located at the western edge of Tian’anmen Square，Beijing.It is used for legislative and ceremonial activities by the PRC and the Communist Party of China and functions as the meeting place of the National People’s Congress.
Description
The Great Hall of the People was designed by Zhang Bo.The building covers a floor space of 171，800 square metres，356 metreslong and 206.5 metres wide.The centre peaks at 46.5 metres.At the eaves of the main gate hangs the national emblem of the PRC.
The Great Hall of the People consists of three sections.
·The central section principally includes the Great Auditorium，the Main Auditorium，the Congress Hall，the Central Hall，the Golden Hall and other main halls.
·The northern section consists of the State Banquet Hall，the Salute State Guest Hall，the North Hall，the East Hall，the West Hall and other large halls.
·The southern part is the office building of the Standing Committee of the People’s Congress of China.
Each province，special administrative region and autonomous region of China has its own hall in the Great Hall，such as Beijing Hall，Hong Kong Hall and Taiwan Hall.Each hall has the unique characteristics of the province and is furnished according to the local style.
The Great Auditorium has seats 3，693 in the lower auditorium，3，515 in the balcony，2，518 in the gallery and 300 to 500 on the dais.
Government leaders make their speeches to the representatives.It can simultaneously seat 10，000 representatives.The ceiling is decorated with a galaxy of lights，with a large red star at the centre of the ceiling and a pattern of a water waves nearby representing the people.Its facilities equipped with audio-visual and other systems are adaptableto a variety of meetings.A simultaneous interpretation system is also provided with a language booth.
The State Banquet Hall with an area of 7，000 square meters can entertain 7，000 guests and up to 5，000 people can dine at one time.Smaller gatherings can be held in the Main Auditorium；larger groups can use of one or more of the conference halls，such as Golden Hall and North Hall；and the smallest assemblies can be accommodated in one or more of the over 30 conference halls that are named after cities，provinces and regions in China.
Usage
The Great Hall of the People is home of the National People’s Congress.In March of every year，the Great Hall of the People plays host to the liang hui（literally means”two meetings”）event，where both the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference（CPPCC）
and the National People’s Congress（NPC）meet in sessions lasting for two or three weeks at the Great Auditorium.The Communist Party of China（CPC）also holds its National Congress every five years in the Great Hall of the People.This enormous building is open to the public when national conference is not in session and is shown in a selection of routes.In recent years some non-political conventions and concerts have also been held in the Great Hall.In January 2009 American Country Music trio Lucy Angel was the first American/Western group ever to be invited to perform at the Great Hall of the People before an audience of dignitaries and government officials.
