Beijing Central Axis

The Beijing Bell and Drum Towers stand at the northern end of the city's central axis, distinguished by two starkly different architectural styles. The Drum Tower is a substantial, red-walled wooden structure with a yellow-tiled roof,…

Wanning Bridge is a single-arch white marble structure that spans the Yu River in Beijing’s Dongcheng District. It is the oldest bridge along the city's seven point eight kilometer long central axis, an ancient north-south backbone that…

Jingshan Park is defined by a central, artificial hill that rises forty-five meters above the city, designed to anchor the imperial center of Beijing. Constructed from soil excavated while digging the moats of the Forbidden City, the hill…

The Beijing Shejitan is a three-tiered square platform built of white marble, situated within the grounds of Zhongshan Park. You can identify the structure by the five colors of earth spread over the surface of its upper platform,…

The Imperial Ancestral Temple, or Taimiao, is marked by a vast, symmetrical complex of red walls and ancient, sprawling cypress trees. Constructed in fourteen twenty during the Ming Dynasty, it functioned as the supreme site for emperors…

Duanmen, also known as the Upright Gate, features a raised platform topped by a tower with a double-eaved, hipped roof covered in yellow glazed tiles. It stands south of the Forbidden City, positioned between the Gate of Heavenly Peace and…

Tiananmen, or the Gate of Heavenly Peace, is recognized by its yellow glaze-tiled, double-eave tower and the five doors that provide passage into the former imperial palace complex. First constructed in fourteen twenty during the Ming…

Five parallel, white marble bridges stretch across the Inner Golden Water River between the Meridian Gate and the Gate of Supreme Harmony. These structures form an essential part of the Forbidden City's layout, designed to reflect the…

Tiananmen Square is a vast, open plaza in the center of Beijing, defined by its enormous scale and the massive flagpole standing at its northern end where daily ceremonies take place at sunrise and sunset. First constructed in sixteen…

Zhengyangmen, widely known as Qianmen, rises forty-two meters above the street as a massive stone and brick gatehouse. First built in fourteen nineteen during the Ming Dynasty, it once served as the primary southern entrance to the Inner…

The Temple of Agriculture, known locally as Xiannongtan, is distinguished by its multi-colored facades and broad, hexagonal roofs lined with glazed tiles. Constructed in fourteen twenty during the Ming Dynasty, this complex was designed to…

Yongdingmen, the Gate of Perpetual Stability, marks the southern starting point of Beijing’s historic central axis. You can identify the site by the reconstructed gate tower, which rises as a square, wooden structure with a traditional…