On May 1, 1958, a monument with a height of 37.94 meters and an area of about 3,100 square meters was erected in Tian'anmen Square — the Monument to the People's Heroes.

As early as September 30, 1949, the first plenary session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference passed a resolution proposing to build a "Monument to the People's Heroes Who Have Sacrificed for the Country" in Beijing to commemorate "the people's heroes who died in the people's liberation war, the people's revolution, national liberation, and the democracy movement". Construction of the Monument to the People's Heroes started in 1952; the Monument was inaugurated on May 1, 1958. It was the first large-scale monument built by the state after the founding of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and it was also the first large-scale public art project.

The front of the monument is engraved with eight gilt characters inscribed by Mao Zedong, "Eternal glory to the people's heroes". On the back is an epitaph composed by Mao Zedong, with calligraphy by Zhou Enlai:

"Eternal glory to the heroes of the people who laid down their lives in the three-year people's war of liberation and people's revolution

Eternal glory to the heroes of the people who laid down their lives in the thirty-year people's war of liberation and people's revolution

Eternal glory to the heroes of the people who, since 1840, have laid down their lives in the many struggles against domestic and foreign enemies, for national independence, and for the freedom and well-being of the people”

Through this epitaph, the CCP used revolutionaries from different historical periods as a basis on which to consolidate the legitimacy of the CCP's seizure of power.

During the 1989 student movement, the Monument to the People's Heroes became the center of activity in Tian'anmen Square. In the early morning of June 4, when People's Liberation Army troops enforcing martial law forcibly cleared the Square, the students gathered next to the Monument during the final struggle; the students were not driven out until around 5:30 am.

References: Wikipedia (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/人民英雄纪念碑); Radio Taiwan International (https://www.rti.org.tw/news/view/id/2099160)