The letter was read over by Hu Yaobang and other state leaders. It interested them greatly. Wang Zhaoguo, then director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee, instructed the Beijing municipal government to work out a plan for opening up the Tian'anmen Gate Tower.

On May 1, 1986, the Tian'anmen Gate Tower began to receive groups of special visitors. They included deputies of the National People's Congress, model workers, and participants of conferences held by the CPC Central Committee or armies in Beijing. They had to go through strict registration and approval procedures before entering the tower.

A photo taken on January 1, 1988 shows visitors on the Tian'anmen Gate Tower. Over 2,000 visitors from home and abroad visited Tian'anmen that day. [File photo: Xinhua]

"At that time, it was a great honor if you could visit the Tian'anmen Gate Tower. It was related to your political record," Yang Dengyan recalls. "Even officials at ministerial level did not have free access to the tower. Workers of the Tian'anmen management office were also forbidden to climb the tower without permission."

Feng Renkai used to work at the Tian'anmen management office. According to him, all the staff responsible for daily cleaning and maintenance of the gate tower had to register with the Central Guard Bureau and undergo strict political vetting. They had to telephone the Central Guard Bureau to ask for permission each time they needed to enter the tower.

Making the decision

1988 was the year of dragon. The Beijing Tourism Administration decided to designate it as "Beijing International Tourism Year". Its director, Bo Xicheng, eagerly hoped the event would be a success, so in 1987 he asked Yang Dengyan to develop a plan to open the Tian'anmen Gate Tower.

It took only three months for Yang to work out the plan and receive approval from the municipal and also central authorities. "A lot of lobbying had already been done, so it was not entirely surprising to receive such speedy approval," he says.

In July 1987, the Beijing Tourism Administration submitted their plan to the Beijing municipal government for examination and approval.

In September, the Beijing Municipal Party Committee asked the CPC Central Committee for instructions on opening the Tian'anmen Gate Tower to foreign visitors.

Wang Zhen and other top state leaders approved the plan.

In October, Yang Dengyan told the Tian'anmen management office to prepare for the opening of the tower, which was planned for January 1, 1988.

Later, in an interview with the Beijing Daily, Bo Xicheng recalled: "Central government and the Beijing municipal government shared the same opinion on this issue. They were determined to open the Tian'anmen Gate Tower to the public. So there was an irresistible force supporting our work."