Chairman Mao's Memorial Hall, also known as the Mao Mausoleum, is located in Tiananmen Square and contains the body of Mao Zedong, former head of the Chinese Communist Party and leader of China from 1949 to 1976. The Mausoleum was built in 1976 using materials from all over China, including sand from the Taiwan Straits, and was built using labor from 700,000 volunteers.

As relations between China and the Soviet Union had deteriorated during the 1970s, China was unable to ask for Soviet aid in embalming Mao, as had been done with Lenin, and so was aided by Vietnam, who had recently received aid in embalming Ho Chi Min from the Soviets.  The crystal coffin was designed in China.

The foyer houses a marble statue of Mao. Behind it is a 7-by-24-metre needlepoint woollen tapestry “Our Beautiful Motherland”. In the second room, Chairman Mao body lies within a crystal coffin, with the red flag of the Communist Party of China draped over his body.  

Currently, the remains of late Chairman Mao are mechanically raised from a freezer for viewing, and then lowered again at night. The queues for the Memorial Hall can be long, though they move quickly. On leaving the hall, guests may purchase Chairman Mao related gifts. 

Tour Including Chairman Mao Memorial Hall;
Flag Raising Ceremony- Tiananmen Square- Chairman Mao's Mausoleum- Ming City Wall Relic Park