Southeast Corner Tower of Beijing City Wall

Southeast Corner Tower of Beijing City Wall

The Southeast Corner Tower of Beijing City Wall is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Southeast Corner Tower of Beijing City Wall is located at the northeastern part of Chongwen District, at the end of East Dajie outside Chongwenmen, and is managed by the People's Government of Chongwen District.

The tower is the largest and oldest surviving corner tower on a city wall in China. To its northwest stands the majestic and bustling Beijing Railway Station, to its southeast lies the newly built Dongbianmen Overpass, to its west it faces Chongwenmen from afar, and to its east it neighbors the Tonghui River. It is tall and majestic, solemn and dignified, symbolizing the ancient city of Beijing.

The Southeast Corner Tower of Beijing City Wall was an arrow tower at the southeastern corner of the inner city during the Ming and Qing dynasties, commonly referred to as the corner tower. Originally, Beijing had both inner and outer cities, with the inner city being built earlier, reconstructed by the Ming Dynasty on the foundation of the Yuan capital, Dadu. According to the Ming Dynasty’s "Yingzong Shilu": "(Zhengtong) fourth year, fourth month, Bingwu, the construction of the capital’s gate towers, moats, bridges, and sluices was completed... Corner towers were erected at the four corners of the city." The construction of the corner tower began in October of the first year of the Zhengtong era (1436) and was completed in four years, making it over 500 years old today.

The corner tower was built on a square platform that extends outward from the city wall. The platform is 12 meters high, the tower itself is 17 meters high, with a total height of 29 meters. The plan is in the shape of an L, featuring a double-eaved hip-and-gable roof. The two main ridges intersect at the corner to form a cross. It has gray tubular tiles with green trimmed edges, with 144 arrow slits on all four sides, and includes a front tower and rear wing. The wing has two doors, each equipped with three straight-barred windows. Inside the tower, there are 20 golden columns. The total floor area of the tower is 793 square meters. Including the adjacent southern city wall, the total site area is approximately 3,654 square meters. On the hundred-meter stretch of the southern city wall facing the corner tower, there is also a flagpole base stone used by the Qing Dynasty’s Plain Blue Banner troops to raise their flags. In 1988, based on historical materials, two barracks (called "dunbo houses") for stationed soldiers, which no longer existed on the city wall, were restored. Each covers an area of 50 square meters.

After the Republic of China period, the Southeast Corner Tower was no longer used for defense. In 1915, the Beiyang Government constructed the Beijing Ring Railway, which demolished parts of the city wall and enemy towers near the Southeast Corner Tower. To this day, the remains of an archway on the western side of the tower’s city wall still exist, which is the only remnant of the ring railway. A major renovation was carried out in 1935. During a large-scale restoration in 1981, bricks bearing the reign marks of "Jiajing" and "Longqing" were discovered, as well as glazed tiles with the mark of "Qianlong" and tiles from the Republican era. At the same time, two cannonball fragments were found within the eastern wall, and a large number of lead shot marks were found on the second-floor eave rafters, documenting the history of foreign powers' attempts to carve up China during the "Gengzi Incident."

To protect this unique ancient structure, in 1979 it was listed by the Beijing Municipal People’s Government as part of the second batch of municipal-level Key Cultural Relics Protection Units. In 1981, the National Cultural Heritage Administration allocated funds for a complete disassembly and major restoration, and established a cultural relics preservation office together with the Municipal Cultural Relics Bureau. In 1982, it was listed by the State Council as part of the second batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Transportation nearby is convenient, with bus routes 43, 44, and 48 (Dongbianmen Station).

Further reading:

· Second Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units