Yongdingmen, Ancient city gate in Beijing, China

Yongdingmen is a reconstruction completed in 2005 on the site of the Ming gate. Its grey brick platform, 24 m wide and 10.5 m deep, carries a two-storey hall with a double-eaved hip-and-gable roof of grey tiles edged in green glazed bands. Two white stone lions flank the arched passage, and a blue plaque with gold characters hangs beneath the top roof.

The gate was first built in 1553 during the Ming Dynasty and served as the southern entrance of Beijing's outer wall. After its demolition in 1957, a new structure was erected in 2005 using archaeological findings and traditional building methods.

The name Yongdingmen means "Gate of Perpetual Peace". It was the front gate of the outer city, set in the middle of the southern wall on Beijing's Central Axis. On 27 July 2024 it was inscribed as part of the World Heritage site "Beijing Central Axis: A Building Ensemble Exhibiting the Ideal Order of the Chinese Capital".

The gate is easily accessible by subway and sits near other major sites, making it a natural stop on a longer city route. The area is well-accessible during the day and offers enough space to view the structure from different angles.

The 2005 reconstruction reused the original site and dimensions: the tower covers 522 square metres, and its beams carry yawumo xuanzi polychrome painting, a decorative scheme of swirling rosettes. The rebuilt gate stands detached from the old road alignment that once led through it into the city.