In front of you is Zhèngyángmén, “the gate of the sun at its zenith”, which Beijingers simply call Qiánmén, “the front gate”. Today it is two buildings separated by an avenue, but until a century ago they formed a single fortress.

1A gate for the emperor

It was built in 1419, when the Yongle Emperor moved the capital to Beijing. To the north stood the gate tower; to the south, the archery tower, bristling with arrow windows; and between them, a courtyard enclosed by walls, the barbican. The central passage opened almost only for the emperor on his way to the Temple of Heaven. At 42 metres, the gate tower was the tallest in the whole wall.

2Inside and outside

This gate divided two cities. From 1648 the Qing reserved the Inner City for the Manchu banners, and the Han Chinese population moved outside. That is why markets, theatres and inns grew up south of Qianmen. In 1900 both towers burned; they were rebuilt soon after. In 1915 the barbican was opened up for traffic, and the archery tower was given the balconies and white arches you see today.

Beijing's central axis runs through the middle of this gate and continues north through Tiananmen and the Forbidden City to the Drum and Bell Towers.

3What to look for

  • The white arches over the arrow windows of the archery tower, added in the 1915 remodelling.
  • The gate tower, with its red-painted timber frame.
  • The zero kilometre marker for China's roads, set in the ground by the gate.
The Qianmen archery tower, in grey brick with rows of arrow windows and white arches
The archery tower, south of the gate, with the white arches added in 1915.

Documented

Zhengyangmen was built in 1419, burned in 1900, was remodelled in 1915 and is the only gate of the Inner City wall that keeps both its gate tower and its archery tower.

Sources and credits

UNESCO, “Beijing Central Axis: A Building Ensemble Exhibiting the Ideal Order of the Chinese Capital” (2024); Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage, Zhengyangmen listing; L. C. Arlington and William Lewisohn, “In Search of Old Peking” (1935).

Photos:

  • The Zhengyangmen gate tower, with red columns and three green eaves on a grey brick base: TarnishedPath, CC BY-SA 4.0.
  • The Qianmen archery tower, in grey brick with rows of arrow windows and white arches: Morio, CC BY-SA 3.0.

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