![Qianmen 14 april 2010](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Qianmen_14_april_2010.jpg)
Qianmen () is the colloquial name for Zhengyangmen (;
Manchu
The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and ...
:;
Möllendorff:tob šun-i duka, literally meaning "Gate of the Zenith Sun"), a gate in
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
's historic
city wall
A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...
. The gate is situated to the south of
Tiananmen Square
Tiananmen Square or Tian'anmen Square (; 天安门广场; Pinyin: ''Tiān'ānmén Guǎngchǎng''; Wade–Giles: ''Tʻien1-an1-mên2 Kuang3-chʻang3'') is a city square in the city center of Beijing, China, named after the eponymous Tiananmen (" ...
and once guarded the southern entry into the Inner City. Although much of Beijing's city walls were demolished, Zhengyangmen remains an important geographical marker of the city. The city's central north–south axis passes through Zhengyangmen's main gate. It was formerly named Lizhengmen (), meaning "beautiful portal".
History
![Beiyang Army troops into the Zhengyangmen](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/Beiyang_Army_troops_into_the_Zhengyangmen.jpg)
Zhengyangmen was first built in 1419 during the
Ming dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
and once consisted of the gatehouse proper and an archery tower, which were connected by side walls and together with side gates, formed a large
barbican
A barbican (from fro, barbacane) is a fortified outpost or fortified gateway, such as at an outer fortifications, defense perimeter of a city or castle, or any tower situated over a gate or bridge which was used for defensive purposes.
Europe ...
. The gate guarded the direct entry into the imperial city. The city's first railway station, known as the Qianmen Station, was built just outside the gate. During the
Boxer Rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by ...
of 1900 in the late
Qing dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
, the gate sustained considerable damage when the
Eight-Nation Alliance
The Eight-Nation Alliance was a multinational military coalition that invaded northern China in 1900 with the stated aim of relieving the foreign legations in Beijing, then besieged by the popular Boxer militia, who were determined to remove fo ...
invaded the city. The
Hui
The Hui people ( zh, c=, p=Huízú, w=Hui2-tsu2, Xiao'erjing: , dng, Хуэйзў, ) are an East Asian ethnoreligious group predominantly composed of Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam. They are distributed throughout China, mainly in the n ...
and
Dongxiang Muslim
Kansu Braves
The Gansu Braves or Gansu Army was a unit of 10,000 Chinese Muslim troops from the northwestern province of Kansu ( Gansu) in the last decades of the Qing dynasty (1644–1912). Loyal to the Qing, the Braves were recruited in 1895 to suppre ...
under
Ma Fulu
Ma Fulu (Chinese: 马福禄, Pinyin: Mǎ Fúlù, Xiao'erjing: ; 1854 – 1900), a Chinese Muslim, was the son of General Ma Qianling and the brother of Ma Fucai, Ma Fushou and Ma Fuxiang. He was a middle born son.
In 1880, Ma Fulu went to Beij ...
engaged in fierce fighting during the
Battle of Beijing Battle of Beijing may refer to multiple battles fought in what is now Beijing:
* Battle of Gaoliang River (979), between the Liao and Song dynasties
* Battle of Zhongdu (1215), between the Mongols and the Jurchen Jin dynasty
* Battle of Dadu (1368), ...
at Zhengyangmen against the Eight-Nation Alliance. Ma Fulu and 100 of his fellow Hui and Dongxiang soldiers from his home village died in that battle. Ma Fulu's cousins, Ma Fugui (馬福貴) and Ma Fuquan (馬福全), and his nephews, Ma Yaotu (馬耀圖) and Ma Zhaotu (馬兆圖), were
killed in action during the battle.
The Qing Empire later violated the
Boxer Protocol
The Boxer Protocol was signed on September 7, 1901, between the Qing Empire of China and the Eight-Nation Alliance that had provided military forces (including Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, United Kingdom, Italy, Japan, Russia, and the Unit ...
by having a tower constructed at the gate.
The gate complex was extensively reconstructed in 1914. The barbican side gates were torn down in 1915.
After the
Communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
victory in the
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...
in 1949, the Zhengyangmen gatehouse was occupied by the Beijing garrison of the
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...
. The military vacated the gatehouse in 1980, which has now become a tourist attraction. At 42 metres high, the Zhengyangmen gatehouse was, and remains, the tallest of all gates in Beijing's city wall. Zhengyangmen gatehouse survived the demolition of city walls in the late 1960s during the construction of the
Beijing Subway
The Beijing Subway is the rapid transit system of Beijing Municipality that consists of 25 lines including 20 rapid transit lines, two airport rail links, one maglev line and 2 light rail lines, and 463 stations. The rail network extends acro ...
, while other gates such as
Deshengmen
Deshengmen (; lit. "Gate of Virtuous Triumph") is a city gate that was once part of Beijing's northern city wall. It is one of Beijing's few preserved city gates and now stands as a landmark on the northern 2nd Ring Road. Latimer D. (2014) ''The I ...
in the north and Dongbianmen in the southeast only have their archery towers standing. Xibianmen retains only part of its barbican while
Yongdingmen
Yongdingmen (), literally meaning “Gate of Perpetual Peace”, was the former front gate of the outer city of Beijing's old city wall. Originally built in 1553 during Ming Dynasty, it was torn down in the 1950s to make way for the new road syst ...
's gatehouse was rebuilt in 2007.
Today, Qianmen Avenue (Dajie) cuts between the Zhengyangmen gatehouse and the archery tower to the south.
Line 2's
Qianmen Station is also located between the two structures inside the space once surrounded by the barbican.
Qianmen remains one of the enduring symbols of old Beijing.
File:Zhengyangmen menlou.JPG, Gatehouse
File:Qianmen Two Towers.jpg, View from Tiananmen Square
Tiananmen Square or Tian'anmen Square (; 天安门广场; Pinyin: ''Tiān'ānmén Guǎngchǎng''; Wade–Giles: ''Tʻien1-an1-mên2 Kuang3-chʻang3'') is a city square in the city center of Beijing, China, named after the eponymous Tiananmen (" ...
with the gatehouse (left) and archery tower (right) further south
File:Qianmen Gate.jpg, Archery tower viewed from the west
File:天安門広場前門裏側6286660.jpg, Archery tower viewed from the north
Geographical Significance
The Zhengyangmen is situated on the central north–south axis of Beijing. The main gateway of the gatehouse is aligned with
Yongdingmen Gate to the south, the
Mausoleum of Mao Zedong
The Chairman Mao Memorial Hall (), also known as the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong, is the final resting place of Mao Zedong, Chairman of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party from 1943 and the Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party from 194 ...
and the
Monument to the People's Heroes
The Monument to the People's Heroes () is a ten-story obelisk that was erected as a national monument of China to the martyrs of revolutionary struggle during the 19th and 20th centuries. It is located in the southern part of Tiananmen Square in ...
in Tiananmen Square, the
Tiananmen Gate
The Tiananmen (also Tian'anmen (天安门), Tienanmen, T’ien-an Men; ), or the Gate of Heaven-Sent Pacification, is a monumental gate in the city center of Beijing, China, the front gate of the Imperial City of Beijing, located near the ...
itself, the
Meridian Gate
The Meridian Gate or Wumen (; Manchu: ; Möllendorff: ''julergi dulimbai duka'') is the southern and largest gate of the Forbidden City in Beijing, China. Unlike the other gates of the Forbidden City, the Meridian Gate has two protruding arms ...
, and the imperial throne in the
Hall of Supreme Harmony
The Hall of Supreme Harmony (; Manchu: ; Möllendorff: ''amba hūwaliyambure deyen'') is the largest hall within the Forbidden City in Beijing, China. It is located at its central axis, behind the Gate of Supreme Harmony. Built above three leve ...
in the
Forbidden City
The Forbidden City () is a Chinese palace, palace complex in Dongcheng District, Beijing, China, at the center of the Imperial City, Beijing, Imperial City of Beijing. It is surrounded by numerous opulent imperial gardens and temples includ ...
, the city's
Drum and Bell Towers and the entrance to the
Olympic Green
The Olympic Green () is an Olympic Park in Chaoyang District, Beijing, China constructed for the 2008 Summer Olympics. Since then, the streets around the park have been used for an exhibition street race of the FIA GT1 World Championship in ...
in the far north.
The kilometre zero point for highways in China is located just outside the Zhengyangmen Gate. It is marked with a plaque in the ground, with the four cardinal points, four animals, and "Zero Point of Highways, China" in English and Chinese.
Surrounding area
The area near Qianmen includes several areas of historical significance. The avenue which proceeds south from the Qianmen is known as "Qianmen Street", and has been a commercial centre for several centuries, although it now mainly caters to tourists from other parts of China. Since a redevelopment in the 2000s by property developer
SOHO China
SOHO China is a Chinese building developer, primarily in the office and commercial sector, with some residential and mixed-use properties in its portfolio. The company, which uses the name "SOHO" in both English and Chinese contexts, was founded ...
, shopfront tenants along Qianmen Street have been predominantly international brands which cater neither to local residents nor domestic visitors, with the result that Qianmen Avenue is now often largely deserted.
Dashilanr is a well-known cross-street with a similar character. The Peking duck restaurant
Quanjude
Quanjude (, ) is a Chinese restaurant known for its Peking roast duck and its longstanding culinary heritage since its establishment in 1864 in Beijing, China.
Company profile and branches
The restaurant chain sells over 2 million roast ducks ...
is located on Qianmen Street. The Qianmen area is also home to Beijing's narrowest hutong, the
Qianshi hutong
Qianshi hutong () translated as ''money market hutong'', is a Beijing hutong recognized as the narrowest in the city. The street is located near to Qianmen, in the Dongcheng district. For most of its length it is wide and measures at its narro ...
.
Transportation
Beijing Subway
The Beijing Subway is the rapid transit system of Beijing Municipality that consists of 25 lines including 20 rapid transit lines, two airport rail links, one maglev line and 2 light rail lines, and 463 stations. The rail network extends acro ...
Line 2 and
Line 8 has a stop at Qianmen.
Beijing bus routes 8, 17, 48, 66, 67, 69, 71, 82, 93, 126, 623, BRT1 (快速公交1), Tourist route 2 (观光2), Special 4 (特4), and Special 7 (特7) have a terminal at Qianmen.
References
External links
Story about Qianmen ''hutong''from ''The World'' program, July 8, 2008
{{Authority control
Gates of Beijing
Dongcheng District, Beijing
Neighbourhoods of Beijing
Ming dynasty architecture
Qing dynasty architecture
Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Beijing
Buildings and structures completed in 1419
15th-century establishments in China
Tourist attractions in Beijing
1419 establishments in Asia
1410s establishments in Asia