Xizhimen () was a gate in the

Beijing city wall The Beijing city fortifications were walls with series of towers and gates constructed in the city of Beijing, China in the early 1400s until they were partially demolished in 1965 for the construction of the 2nd Ring Road and Line 2 of the Beiji ...

and is now a transportation node in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

. The gate was the entrance of drinking water for the Emperor, coming from the Jade Spring Hills to the west of Beijing. The gate was demolished in 1969.

Transportation

The

2nd Ring Road The 2nd Ring Road () is the innermost ring road highway which encircles the city center of Beijing, People's Republic of China. (The first ring road had been a circular tram route.) The ring road can be divided into two parts: the original ring ...

links with Xizhimen Outer Street, which has recently been transformed into a city express road, linking the western 2nd Ring Road via Beijing Zoo to the 3rd Ring Road. A triple-arched highrise building is a noticeable landmark at the intersection. The Beijing North railway station is in the Xizhimen area. Line 2, Line 4 and Line 13 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 ...

network all stop at Xizhimen Station. A transfer passage with escalators allows for direct transfers between the three Lines. Line 13 has its western terminus at Xizhimen. Xizhimen is served by many Beijing public buses. Bus routes 16, 360, 362, 275, 438, 534, 563, 632, 651, 特15, and 夜21 all have terminals in the Xizhemen area. A bridge is named after the region (Xizhimen Bridge). The bridge has a northern connection bridge built in the late 1970s. It will be removed and be replaced soon. The main Xizhimen Bridge, built also in the 1970s, once stood a rather frightening 5.5 m (it was then, and still is now, for the record, the tallest bridge on the

) and had three layers, with the top layer acting as a roundabout. Demolition of the old central bridge took place in 1999 by means of structural removal instead of a major bridge explosion. It was replaced with a series of new bridges which bear no resemblance to the old bridge.

Xihuan Plaza and Xizhimen Project

In 2008 due to the Olympic Games, a reform in Xizhimen Transportation hub, was finished, a masterplan willing to integrate the new Xizhimen, Offices and Commercial building, with the Xihuan Plaza, and both train and subway station. Several Chinese and International Companies took part on the design and construction of the plan. In Xihuan Plaza & Xizhimen Transportation Hub, Li Xinggang, as the chief designer, presided the engineering design and particular work. The constructions were inaugurated just in time for the Olympic Games.

References

External links

Xizhimen Nature Preserve
{{DEFAULTSORT:Xizhimen Gates of Beijing Neighbourhoods of Beijing Road transport in Beijing Xicheng District Demolished buildings and structures in China Buildings and structures demolished in 1969