 The film uses archival footage and contemporary interviews with a wide range of Chinese citizens, including workers, students, intellectuals, and government officials, to revisit the events of “Beijing Spring.” From the beginning of the protests in mid-April to the night of June 3–4, the film provides a “meticulous day-by-day chronicle of the six-week period… This unglamorous but absorbing film interweaves videotaped scenes of the demonstrations and conversations with leaders and participants with an explanatory narration into an account that is as clear-headed as it is thorough and well-organized.”

Among those interviewed are Liu Xiaobo, Wang Dan, Wuer Kaixi, Han Dongfang, Ding Zilin, Chai Ling, Dai Qing, Feng Congde, and Hou Dejian.In addition, "The Gate of Heavenly Peace" examines the deeper history behind the demonstrations, providing historical and cultural context for the famous images that the Western media flashed around the world.The film explores the symbolic importance of Tiananmen Square and also looks at earlier political movements in China from the May Fourth Movement of 1919 to the Cultural Revolution of 1966-76 to the Tiananmen Incident of 1976.