Qingfeng Sluice

Qingfeng Sluice

Destination Introduction

The 20-kilometer section of the Tonghui River from Datong Bridge at Dongbianmen to Tongzhou features five sluices in total. The second sluice was originally named Dongji Sluice, commonly known as Er Sluice, and later renamed Qingfeng Sluice. It is located in Er Sluice Village southeast of Dabeiyao, with the village named after the sluice. Based on this, the agricultural fields of the Yuan Dynasty’s capital likely lay between today’s Dongbianmen in Beijing and Changpo Village—that is, in the southeastern part of the Yuan capital—where the Altars of Agriculture and Sericulture were situated. These two altars had the same design as the Altars of Land and Grain, but because they were built within the agricultural fields, to avoid hindering farming, they were not enclosed by walls.

From 1292, when the river became navigable, until the early years of the Republic of China, boats traveled continuously between Er Sluice and San Sluice (originally named Pingjin Sluice). During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the riverside was a renowned scenic area, often referred to as the “Qinhuai River of the North.” Qingfeng Sluice played an important role in water storage and flood discharge for the Tonghui River, as well as in facilitating grain transport via the canal.

Location: Located in Changpo Village, Chaoyang District, outside Dongbianmen in Beijing

The river channel retains the Yuan Dynasty’s hu-pi stone river walls and sluice gates. In 1998, the Qingfeng Sluice site was restored, and a white marble arched bridge was constructed, measuring 38 meters long, 4.4 meters wide, and 7.8 meters high. The bridge has an arch structure, with railings and pillars designed in the architectural style of the Yuan Dynasty. On the slopes on both the south and north banks of the bridge’s southwest side, five-ton Yuan Dynasty water-controlling beasts, carved stone dragons, and Sìmǎ mascots are placed. On the north bank of the sluice area, Yuan Dynasty-style roof-patterned artistic murals have been built. The murals consist of three parts: a 7-meter-long inscription reading “Qingfeng Sluice Site”; a Qing Dynasty-period costume painting depicting the restoration of Er Sluice from the “Hongxue Yin Yuan Tu” (Illustrated Accounts of Travel and Friendship); and a 7-meter-long inkstone carving slab that compiles the history of Qingfeng Sluice’s construction during the Ming and Qing dynasties since Guo Shoujing oversaw the building of the Tonghui River in 1293. Next to the site, there is also a Yuan-style replica monument for the Qingfeng Sluice site. The inscriptions on the monument document the full history of the Tonghui River restoration project and the completion of the Qingfeng Sluice site preservation project. Transportation Information

Accessible via Bus Routes 1, 4, and 57.

Beijing, Chaoyang District