Heritage with Related Tags
Bell and Drum Tower
As a landmark building at the north end of Beijing's central axis, the Bell and Drum Tower is located in the commercial district of Beijing's old city. Together with the court area formed by Tiananmen, Duanmen, and the Forbidden City, it forms the capital planning paradigm of "facing the market behind" as recorded in "Kaogongji". The building is magnificent and is an important landscape viewpoint of Beijing's central axis, forming a sharp contrast with the surrounding flat and open residential buildings with blue bricks and gray tiles. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the Bell and Drum Tower assumed the function of city timekeeping and time reporting. It was an important urban management facility and witnessed the traditional lifestyle of ancient China using bells and drums to tell time.
Zhengyang Gate
Zhengyangmen is a group of city gate buildings with both defense and city management functions during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. As the south gate of Beijing's inner city in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Zhengyangmen is the largest and most advanced city gate building among the inner and outer city gates of Beijing. It witnessed China's traditional city management methods and is an important viewpoint for overlooking Tiananmen Square, the buildings and the southern section of Beijing's central axis. Zhengyangmen is located at the southern end of Tiananmen Square. It consists of two tall buildings, the city tower and the arrow tower, which are arranged in a north-south column. The city tower is located in the north and the arrow tower is located in the south. As the south gate of the inner city in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Zhengyangmen has a very high national etiquette symbolic significance. Its building scale and form level are higher than other city gates. It is a landmark building of the city wall structure of the old city of Beijing. From the city tower to the north, you can overlook Tiananmen Square. From the arrow tower to the south, you can overlook Qianmen Street and the Yongdingmen city tower in the distance. As the south gate of Beijing's inner city, Zhengyangmen integrates defense, city management and etiquette. The imperial road under Zhengyangmen was specially used for the emperor to worship in the southern suburbs and hunt in the Nanyuan. On weekdays, the gates of the arrow towers were closed, and residents entered and exited from the side doors under the gatehouses on the east and west sides. The curfew system was implemented in the Ming and Qing dynasties, and the city gates opened and closed according to the time of the bell and drum tower to achieve urban management. In the early 20th century, the transformation of the Zhengyangmen area witnessed the process of publicization of Beijing's central axis. Today, Zhengyangmen is open to the public as a museum. Zhengyangmen was first built in the 17th year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (1419). At first, there was only a city gate. From the first year of Zhengtong in the Ming Dynasty (1436) to the fourth year of Zhengtong (1439), the tower, the city wall, the arrow tower, and the east and west gatehouses were added, and the Zhengyang Bridge and the archway were built to the south of the arrow tower. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Zhengyangmen was repeatedly damaged to varying degrees and rebuilt. With the completion of Zhengyangmen West Station of the Beijing-Han Railway and Zhengyangmen East Station of the Beijing-Qin Railway, the Zhengyangmen area became the hub of Beijing's external transportation in modern times, and the traffic flow in the surrounding areas increased dramatically. From 1914 to 1915, the Kyoto Municipal Office renovated the Zhengyangmen area, which is an important witness to the publicization process of Beijing's central axis. In 1990 and 1991, the Zhengyangmen Arrow Tower and the City Tower were opened to the public as museums.