Yongdingmen (simplified Chinese: 永定门) was the former front gate of the outer city of Beijing’s old city wall. Originally built in 1553 during Ming Dynasty, it was torn down in the 1950s to make way for the new road system in Beijing. In 2005, the Yongdingmen was reconstructed at the site of the old city gate. This new gate is disconnected from the original road leading towards the gate and into the city.
If you are going to walk along the Central Axis of Beijing, the southern tip of Yongdingmen Gate is definitely worth your visiting for a while to view this magnificent Yongdingmen Tower.
The Central Axis of Beijing is a classic model of ancient Chinese urban planning, a prominent position in the world history of urban planning and development. Besides, the emperors in ancient China believed that they were the center of the world, so all of their palaces should be built on the center of the axis across “the center” from south to north of Beijing. The local government of Dongcheng District has been working hard to get the Beijing central axis recognized as a UNESCO world Cultural Heritage.