Chaoyangmen, city gate of Xi'an
Chaoyangmen is a former city gate in Xincheng District that once served as the main entrance on Beijing's eastern inner wall. The structure featured a large brick tower with tiled roof, defensive battlements, arched gateway, and a surrounding moat crossed by drawbridge or fixed bridge.
The gate was built in 1437 during the Ming Dynasty, replacing an earlier Yuan Dynasty structure at this location. It served as a crucial point for transporting grain and supplies from the south via the Grand Canal, with warehouses built nearby for storage and distribution.
Chaoyangmen means the gate facing the sun, and its eastward orientation reflected classical Chinese philosophy about vitality and new beginnings. The name and positioning held deep symbolic meaning in the city's cosmological design.
The site is located on the Second Ring Road today and is easily reached via the Chaoyangmen subway station where lines 2 and 6 meet. Nearby shops, restaurants, and modern office buildings make the area convenient to explore on foot.
The original structure was demolished in the 1950s during Beijing's major modernization, but nearby stand preserved French villas from the early 20th century. These houses once belonged to French railway managers and today serve as event venues, showing a different layer of the city's history.
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