Gongji Gate

Gongji Gate

Gongji Gate is located in the northeast corner of Ming Dynasty Taiyuan City and is one of the eight city gates of the Ming city that has never been renamed.

In the third year of the Hongwu era of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang’s son, Zhu... was enfeoffed as the Prince of Jin. In the ninth year of Hongwu, he expanded the Song-era Taiyuan City eastward, southward, and northward, reconstructing a new Taiyuan Prefecture City with a perimeter of 12 kilometers. The Ming Dynasty Taiyuan City had eight city gates: Yichun Gate (Dadongmen), Yinghui Gate (Xiaodongmen), Yingze Gate (Dananmen), Cheng’en Gate (Xinnanmen), Fucheng Gate (Hansimen), Zhenwu Gate (Shuiximen), Zhenyuan Gate (Dananmen), and Gongji Gate (Xiaobeimen). These gates were severely damaged during the Liberation War and subsequently demolished during municipal construction. However, Xiaobeimen (the Small North Gate) was preserved because it was located within a military firing range at the time, making it the only remaining gate and section of the city wall built during the early Ming Dynasty in Taiyuan. At the beginning of this century, the gate tower was rebuilt to its original specifications, largely restoring its former appearance. Gongji Gate has now been turned into a park, but the ramp leading up to the gate tower is closed, so visitors cannot currently go up to the tower.

Transportation

Take bus routes 59, 60, 61, 102, 104, 105, 202, 803, 828, 830, 855, 864, or 869 and get off at Xiaobeimen Station. The site is 140 meters away.

Location

Xiaobeimen Street, Xinghualing District, Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province