__NOTOC__ Guang'anmen, also known as the , Guangningmen and Zhangyimen, was a city gate of old

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, constructed during the reign of the

Jiajing Emperor The Jiajing Emperor (16September 150723January 1567), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shizong of Ming, personal name Zhu Houcong, art name, art names Yaozhai, Leixuan, and Tianchi Diaosou, was the 12th List of emperors of the Ming ...

(1521–1567) of the

Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

. This gate was part of Beijing's city wall, situated south-west of the city center and facing east. Guang'anmen served as a main entrance to Beijing.

History

The ''Records of the Capital at Yan'' , written by the

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

historian Gu Sen read: "Of the seven outer city gates, the one facing east is called Guangningmen. 15 li to the west of the gate is Lugou Bridge; if you cross the bridge and continue 20lis, you will find the seat of Liangxiang County. The gate is a strategic passage for ground traffic from the southern provinces and is of vital importance." The Guanganmen Incident of 26 July 1937 was part of the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...

, the Chinese theatre of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. This ultimately resulted in the retreat of Chinese armies to the southern provinces, the fall of Beijing and Tianjing, and the Japanese occupation of the entire

North China Plain The North China Plain () is a large-scale downfaulted rift basin formed in the late Paleogene and Neogene and then modified by the deposits of the Yellow River. It is the largest alluvial plain of China. The plain is bordered to the north by th ...

later that year.Press Corps of the War Ministry of Japan 1937 p.4-6 The gate was torn down for construction of Beijing's 2nd Ring Road, which led to the demolition of most of Beijing city fortifications. The original two-story tower with double eaves was tall, long and wide. The tower and the wall combined had a height of .

Etymology

Guang'anmen was known as "Guangningmen" during the Ming and early

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

. It was renamed by the

Daoguang Emperor The Daoguang Emperor (16 September 1782 – 26 February 1850), also known by his temple name Emperor Xuanzong of Qing, personal name Mianning, was the seventh List of emperors of the Qing dynasty, emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the sixth Qing e ...

, whose private name was Minning. Because the Chinese

naming taboo A naming taboo is a cultural taboo against speaking or writing the given names of exalted persons, notably in China and within the Chinese cultural sphere. It was enforced by several laws throughout Imperial China, but its cultural and possibly ...

forbid the use of characters in the

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a f ...

of ancestors and emperors, the name was changed to a close synonym.

Neighbourhood

Guang'anmen is now the name of a Beijing neighbourhood in

Xicheng District Xicheng () is a district of the city of Beijing. Its cover the western half of the old city (largely inside the 2nd Ring Road; the eastern half is Dongcheng District, Beijing, Dongcheng District), and has 1,106,214 inhabitants (2020 Census). It ...

. After the completion of Guang'an Avenue one of the main traffic arteries of modern Beijing, the area has become an important business district. It is also home to a few prestigious education institutes, including

Central Conservatory of Music The Central Conservatory of Music (CCOM; ) is the national music academy of China, located in Beijing. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education. The academy is part of Project 211 and the Double First-Class Construction. Overview Fo ...

, Beijing Primary School and Beijing No.14 High School Line 7 of the

Beijing Subway The Beijing Subway is the rapid transit system of Beijing Direct-controlled municipality, Municipality that consists of 29 lines including 24 rapid transit lines, two airport rail links, one maglev line and two light rail, light rail tram line ...

passes underneath Guang'an Avenue. The neighbourhood is also served by many public bus lines.

Notes

References

{{Coord, 39.889423, N, 116.349978, E, scale:10000, display=title, format=dms Gates of Beijing Neighbourhoods of Beijing Road transport in Beijing Xicheng District Demolished buildings and structures in China

History

Etymology

Neighbourhood

See also

Notes

References