Ruins of the Da’an Hall

　　In 1990, the West Wing Project discovered the ruins of the Da’an Hall, an important structure of the front court in the Central Capital’s palace city. The Da’an Hall was where the Jin Dynasty held celebrations and received homage. In 2003, to commemorate the 850th anniversary of Beijing as the capital, a memorial archway was built on the site of the Da’an Hall ruins to inform future generations.

　　The main structure of the memorial archway is made of bronze, covered with mottled patina, exuding a sense of historical vicissitude. Xu Liren, director of the Xuanwu District Cultural Committee, told reporters that a que (memorial archway) was a specialized structure in front of ancient palaces, temples, and tombs, serving both decorative and symbolic purposes. The newly built memorial archway stands 12 meters tall and is supported by four square pillars, symbolizing meanings such as “the round heaven and square earth, connecting to the center, and peace in all four seasons.” On the four sides—east, south, west, and north—of the archway, there are replicas of four bronze sitting dragons, cultural relics from the Jin Dynasty. The bronze sitting dragon was an imperial object of the Jin royal family, symbolizing good fortune. The top of the archway adopts the traditional Chinese architectural design of dougong (interlocking wooden brackets). The memorial archway covers an area of about 760 square meters, and the base is inscribed with "The Record of Beijing as Capital" written by the renowned historian and geographer Hou Renzhi. On the granite ground around the base, there are also carvings of the layout plan of the Central Capital of the Jin Dynasty and a comparative map showing its location in relation to the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties' Beijing.