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

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 ...

, constructed during the reign of the

Jiajing Emperor The Jiajing Emperor (; 16September 150723January 1567) was the 12th List of emperors of the Ming dynasty, Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1521 to 1567. Born Zhu Houcong, he was the former Zhengde Emperor's cousin. His father, Zhu You ...

(1521–1567) of 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 ...

. 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 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-speaki ...

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 The Marco Polo Bridge or Lugou Bridge () is a stone bridge located 15 km southwest of Beijing's city center in the Fengtai District. It bridges the Yongding River, a major tributary of Hai River. Situated at the eastern end of the bridge ...

; if you cross the bridge and continue 20li, 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 (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...

, the Chinese theatre of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. 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 or Huang-Huai-Hai 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 bord ...

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 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 ...

, 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. It was renamed by the

Daoguang Emperor The Daoguang Emperor (; 16 September 1782 – 26 February 1850), also known by his temple name Emperor Xuanxong of Qing, born Mianning, was the seventh Emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the sixth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning ...

, 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 r ...

forbid the use of

characters Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...

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 fa ...

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 District () is a district of Beijing. Xicheng District spans , covering the western half of the old city (largely inside the 2nd Ring Road - the eastern half is Dongcheng District, Beijing, Dongcheng District), and has 706,691 inhabitant ...

. 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 () is a prestigious leading public music school of China and a member of Double First Class University Plan and former Project 211. Its campus is in the Xicheng District of Beijing, China, near Fuxingmen Statio ...

, 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 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 ...

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

public bus Public transport bus services are generally based on regular operation of transit buses along a route calling at agreed bus stops according to a published public transport timetable. History of buses Origins While there are indications ...

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