Zhengyangmen

　　Introduction
　　Zhengyangmen was first built in the 17th year of the Yongle reign during the Ming Dynasty and was originally named Lizhengmen. Because it is situated directly in front of the Forbidden City, it is also known as the "Front Gate." Zhengyangmen is one of the old Beijing "Nine Gates of the Capital" and consists of an integrated ancient defensive architectural complex, comprising the Zhengyangmen Gate Tower, the Zhengyangmen Arrow Tower, and the Zhengyangmen Barbican. According to local chronicles, the gate tower and arrow tower at that time were grand and magnificent in scale and design, while the barbican was imposing, representing the pinnacle of old Beijing’s city wall architecture. Over the past five hundred years, Zhengyangmen has endured many vicissitudes, having been destroyed and rebuilt several times. Today, only the gate tower and the arrow tower remain, making it the only relatively well-preserved gate within Beijing. The gate tower houses the Beijing Folk Customs Museum.

　　"Front Gate" is the colloquial term for Zhengyangmen, which includes the arrow tower and the gate tower. Originally, they were connected as one by the barbican walls, but were later divided into two parts due to road construction. However, people also commonly refer to the Dashilan area as the Front Gate. Therefore, strictly speaking, the concept of the Front Gate refers to an area that encompasses Zhengyangmen and its surrounding districts such as the Jewelry Market and Dashilan.

　　　Qianmen Street is one of Beijing's famous commercial streets, located along the city's central axis. It stretches from the Zhengyangmen Arrow Tower in the north to the Tianqiao intersection in the south, connecting with South Tianqiao Street. In the past, it served as the imperial route for the emperor when traveling from the palace to the Temple of Heaven and the Altar of Mountains and Rivers.
　　The Qianmen commercial street originated in the Ming Dynasty. During the Ming era, Beijing broke away from the Yuan Dynasty’s convention of “front court, back market,” and a large commercial district formed around Zhengyangmen and extending south to Xianyukou and Langfang Hutong. In the early Qing Dynasty, the area saw a proliferation of artisan workshops, teahouses, and theaters, developing into dedicated market streets. By the 26th year of the Guangxu reign (1900), a large influx of foreign goods entered Beijing, and with the opening of the Beijing–Fengtian Railway and the Beijing–Hankou Railway, two railway stations were established to the east and west of Qianmen. As a result, the Qianmen commercial area flourished like never before.

Zhengyangmen isAAAAa

Zhengyangmen is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Zhengyangmen

Zhengyangmen