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51.ZhengyangmenearlyonaSundaymorning,beforethecrowdsgather.
2.Thegatehouseandarcherytowerwereonceconnectedbysidewalls.
3.ThePeople’sLiberationArmymarchedintothecitythroughthegateinagrandceremonyafterBeijingwaspeacefullyliberatedin1949.
4.Beforethe1914rebuildingthebarbicanincorporatedthetwotowers.
5.CourtpainterXuYangcapturedthemomentin1751whenEmperorQianlongpassedthroughZhengyangmen.
6.ThekilometerzeropointforhighwaysinChinaislocatedjustoutsidethegate,andmarkedwithaplaqueintheground.PhotoscourtesyofBrianSalter.
Imusthavebeentheredozensoftimes;yetitwasonlyrecentlythatIdiscoveredthatZhengyangmen(“GateoftheZenithSun”)hasamuseuminsideshowingafascinatingperspectiveofoldBeijing,togetherwithagoodcollectionofphotographs,somedatingbackacenturyormore.
NotfamiliarwithZhengyangmen?MaybeyouknowitbyitsmorefamiliarnameofQianmen(meaningfrontgate),whichisthegatejustsouthoftheForbiddenCityandTiananmenSquare;thoughstrictlyspeaking,“Qianmen”consistsofthegate–Zhengyangmen–togetherwithitsArrowTower,orJianlou.
ThemainentranceofthegatehouseisalignedwithBeijing’smajornorth-southaxis,whichincludesYongdingmenGatetothesouth,theMausoleumofMaoZedongandtheMonumenttothePeople’sHeroesinTiananmenSquare,TiananmenGate,theMeridianGate,theimperialthroneintheHallofSupremeHarmonyintheForbiddenCity,thecity’sDrumTowerandBellTower,andtheentrancetoOlympicParkoutneartheFourthRingRoad.
ZhengyangmenwasthegatethroughwhichtheemperorpassedwheneverhewenttotheTempleofHeaven,intheoutercity,tomakeofferings.Infactthegatewaywouldonlybeopenedwhenemperorswerepassingthroughtogiveofferingsortocarryoutimperialinspections.FuneralvehicleswereneverallowedtopassthroughZhengyangmenduringtheMingandQingdynasties(1368-1911).
Zhengyangmenwasfirstbuiltin1419andonceconsistedofthegatehouseproperandanarcherytower,whichwereconnectedbysidewallswithsidegates,toformalargebarbican.
DuringtheBoxerRebellionof1900,thegatesustainedconsiderabledamagebutitwasextensivelyreconstructedin1914,onlytohavetheBarbican’ssidegatestorndownthenextyear.
In1949,theZhengyangmengatehousewasoccupiedbytheBeijinggarrisonofthePeople’sLiberationArmy(PLA),whoonlyvacateditin1980;butnowithasrightlybecomeapopulartouristattraction.
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TheOtherEightGatesoftheInnerCity
Deshengmen:literally“GateofVirtuousTriumph”–andishomophonouswith“achievingvictory”;sotroopswouldgothroughthisgateonthewaytoanexpedition.
Andingmen:“Peaceandpacification”–wasthegatearmieswouldtakewhenreturningfromthebattlefieldwhenthewarwasoverandthecountrywaspeaceful.Beijing’smainmanurestoragefieldswerelocatedneartheTempleofEarth,somostdungcartsalsoaccessedthisgate.
Dongzhimen:alsocalled“WoodGate,”becausebricksandwoodneededbypeopleinsidethecityweremainlybroughtthroughthisgate.
Chaoyangmen:alsoknownas“GrainGate,”wasthemainroutetakenfortransportinggrain.
Chongwenmen:alsoknownas“TaxGate,”waswhereacustomsstationwassetup.
Xuanwumen:alsocalled“PrisonerGate,”wastheonlygatethroughwhichcondemnedcriminalsweresentforexecutionintheQingdynasty.
Fuchengmen:wasusedfortransportingcoalintothecity.
Xizhimen:wasusedfortransportingwatertotheimperialpalaceinboththeMingandQingdyansties.
Unfortunately,“progress”waitsfornoman,andZhengyangmenwasoneofonlyahandfulofgatesthatsurvivedthedemolitionofcitywallsinthelate1960sand’70sduringthebuildingoftheBeijingSubway.(Line2’sQianmenStationisactuallylocatedbetweenthetwostructuresinsidethespaceoncesurroundedbythebarbican).
MuseumofHistoricalMoments
ThemuseumitselfcoversthehistoryofoldBeijing,andcontainsmanynotableitemsinitscollection.Forinstance,thereisaverylongpaintingofEmperorQianlong’sfirsttourtoJiangsuandZhejiangprovincesin1751.ItwaspaintedbycourtartistXuYangandconsistsofanumberofscrolls,eachmeasuring868.6cm×1988.6cm.TheoriginalisactuallytobefoundintheNationalMuseumofChina,andthisisacopy,butit’sstilllovelydespitethat,andfewvisitorsareanythewiser!
Thedetailisexquisiteandclearlyshowstheentirebarbicanwiththetwotowerstonorthandsouth.
Andifyouloveoldphotographs,thenyouwillbeimpressedwithsnapshotsofwhatthisareawaslikebeforetherebuildingstartedin1914.
Inordertoalleviatetrafficcongestion,theMoonFortressenclosurewasdemolishedin1915andtwosidegatewayswereopenedinthewallsflankingtheGatehousetower.Roadswerepaved;azigzagascendingpathwasbuiltfortheArcheryToweranddecoratedintheWesternstyle.Sothiswaswhatitlookedlikejustaftertherebuildingin1915.
Otherfamousmomentsinhistorywerecapturedatthetower,suchasonMay27,1929,whenDr.SunYat-sen’scoffinpassedthroughtheGatehousewhenitwasconveyedtoNanjingforinterment.
OnJuly7,1937theLugouBridge(orMarcoPoloBridgeinoutskirtofBeijing)Incidentbrokeout,markingthebeginningofJapan’sfull-scaleinvasionofChinaandthestartofChinaenteringtheSecondWorldWar.OnJuly28,JapaneseforcescapturedBeijingandenteredtheInnerCityviaZhengyangmenonAugust8.
ButonJanuary31,1949,Beijingwaspeacefullyliberated;andonFebruary3thePLAmarchedintothecitythroughthegateinagrandceremony.
TodayZhengyangmenstillhasanimportantroletoplaythatnotevenmanyBeijingersareawareof.ThekilometerzeropointforhighwaysinChina(thepointfromwhichalldistancesaremeasured)islocatedjustoutsidethegate,andmarkedwithaplaqueintheground.
ZeroPointwasapprovedbytheStateCouncilandinstalledinSeptember2006.FourancientChinesemythicalanimals–Qinglong(GreenDragon),Baihu(WhiteTiger),Zhuque(Vermilionbird),andXuanwu(BlackTortoise)representEast,West,South,andNorth.ThewheelinthecenterrepresentsthesystemofhighwaysradiatingtoallpartsofChina.
BRIANSALTERisabroadcasterandjournalistwhohasbeenworkinginChinaforthepastfiveyears.