Qianmen (simplified Chinese:前门;traditional Chinese:前門;pinyin:Qiánmén;Wade–Giles:Ch'ien-men;lit. 'Front Gate') is the colloquial name forZhengyangmen (simplified Chinese:正阳门; traditional Chinese:正陽門; pinyin:Zhèngyángmén; Wade–Giles:Cheng-yang-men;Manchu:ᡨᠣᠪ
ᡧᡠᠨ ᡳ
ᡩᡠᡴᠠ;Möllendorff:tob šun-i duka,lit. 'Gate of the Zenith Sun'), a gate inBeijing's historiccity wall. The gate is situated to the south ofTiananmen Square and once guarded the southern entry into the Inner City. Although much of Beijing's city walls were demolished, Zhengyangmen remains an important geographical marker of the city. The city's central north–south axis passes through Zhengyangmen's main gate. It was formerly namedLizhengmen (simplified Chinese:丽正门; traditional Chinese:麗正門; pinyin:Lìzhèngmén;lit. 'beautiful portal').
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Zhengyangmen was first built in 1419 during theMing dynasty and once consisted of the gatehouse proper and an archery tower, which were connected by side walls and together with side gates, formed a largebarbican. The gate guarded the direct entry into the imperial city. The city's first railway station, known as the Qianmen Station, was built just outside the gate. During theBoxer Rebellion of 1900 in the lateQing dynasty, the gate sustained considerable damage when theEight-Nation Alliance invaded the city. TheHui andDongxiang MuslimKansu Braves underMa Fulu engaged in fierce fighting during theBattle of Beijing at Zhengyangmen against the Eight-Nation Alliance.[1][2] Ma Fulu and 100 of his fellow Hui and Dongxiang soldiers from his home village died in that battle. Ma Fulu's cousins, Ma Fugui (馬福貴) and Ma Fuquan (馬福全), and his nephews, Ma Yaotu (馬耀圖) and Ma Zhaotu (馬兆圖), werekilled in action during the battle.[3] The Qing Empire later violated theBoxer Protocol by having a tower constructed at the gate.[4]
The gate complex was extensively reconstructed in 1914. The barbican side gates were torn down in 1915.[citation needed]
After theCommunist victory in theChinese Civil War in 1949, the Zhengyangmen gatehouse was occupied by the Beijing garrison of thePeople's Liberation Army. The military vacated the gatehouse in 1980, which has now become a tourist attraction. At 42 metres high, the Zhengyangmen gatehouse was, and remains, the tallest of all gates in Beijing's city wall. Zhengyangmen gatehouse survived the demolition of city walls in the late 1960s during the construction of theBeijing Subway, while other gates such asDeshengmen in the north and Dongbianmen in the southeast only have their archery towers standing. Xibianmen retains only part of its barbican whileYongdingmen's gatehouse was rebuilt in 2007.[citation needed]
Today, Qianmen Avenue (Dajie) cuts between the Zhengyangmen gatehouse and the archery tower to the south.Line 2'sQianmen Station is also located between the two structures inside the space once surrounded by the barbican.
Qianmen remains one of the enduring symbols of old Beijing.[citation needed]
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The Zhengyangmen is situated on the central north–south axis of Beijing. The main gateway of the gatehouse is aligned withYongdingmen Gate to the south, theMausoleum of Mao Zedong and theMonument to the People's Heroes in Tiananmen Square, theTiananmen Gate itself, theMeridian Gate, and the imperial throne in theHall of Supreme Harmony in theForbidden City, the city'sDrum and Bell Towers and the entrance to theOlympic Green in the far north.
The kilometre zero point for highways in China is located just outside the Zhengyangmen Gate. It is marked with a plaque in the ground, with the four cardinal points, four animals, and "Zero Point of Highways, China" in English and Chinese.
The area near Qianmen includes several areas of historical significance. The avenue which proceeds south from the Qianmen is known as "Qianmen Street", and has been a commercial centre for several centuries, although it now mainly caters to tourists from other parts of China. Since a redevelopment in the 2000s by property developerSOHO China, shopfront tenants along Qianmen Street have been predominantly international brands which cater neither to local residents nor domestic visitors, with the result that Qianmen Avenue is now often largely deserted.[5]Dashilanr is a well-known cross-street with a similar character. The Peking duck restaurantQuanjude is located on Qianmen Street. The Qianmen area is also home to Beijing's narrowest hutong, theQianshi hutong.
Beijing SubwayLine 2 andLine 8 has a stop at Qianmen.Beijing bus routes 8, 17, 48, 66, 67, 69, 71, 82, 93, 126, 623, BRT1 (快速公交1), Tourist route 2 (观光2), Special 4 (特4), and Special 7 (特7) have a terminal at Qianmen.
39°53′57.0″N116°23′29.3″E / 39.899167°N 116.391472°E /39.899167; 116.391472