Di'anmen

Di'anmen was built in 1420 during the eighteenth year of the Ming Dynasty, it was originally known as Bei'anmen (北安门). In 1651 (eight year of Shunzhi) during the Qing Dynasty, Bei'anmen was changed to Di'anmen (地安门). It was rebuilt in 1652 (ninth year of Shunzhi). The building overall is a palace gate style brick and wood structure, with seven wide faces, three central rooms for passages and 2 duty rooms on the left and right, this structure is exactly the same as the Xi'anmen. During the Republic of China in 1913 and 1923, in order to facilitate transportation, the imperial walls on the east and west side of Di'anmen were demolished. During the early years of the People's Republic of China (from the end of 1954 to February 1955), in order to improve road traffic, both the Di'anmen Gate and the Yanchi Tower were demolished. The materials obtained from the demolition were later used to build the north gate of the Temple of Heaven. In 2005, several literary historians proposed the restoration of the Di'anmen and Yanchi Towers. In 2011, the Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage launched the Central Axis Cultural Relics Protection Project, planning to restore the Yanchi tower and Di'anmen, but no construction was begun. In 2012, Beijing launched the "Restoration Project of Landmark Historic Buildings in Famous Cities", which included restoration of the Yanchi Tower and Di'anmen . On May 16, 2013, the Yanchi tower and Di'anmen restoration project started; the main project was completed in August 2014. == Yanchi Towers ==

The Yanchi towers () was originally on the east and west side of the Di'anmen Inner Street in Di'anmen. From 2013 to 2014, the restoration of the Yanchi towers was carried out. However, due to the impact of the demolition of Di'anmen gate and the construction and expansion of the roads, the New Yanchi tower could not be in the same architectural style as the original, with only 4 rooms from south to north of the east wing and 10 on the west wing could be restored. To distinguish it from the original, in the plan part of the original hilltop roof was to be changed to a hanging hilltop roof and as well as a sign to explain this. After its reconstruction, the Yanchi tower has 4 buildings in its east wing and 10 in the west. The total construction area is 1041 square meters, with each room being 4.66 meters long, with an area of about approximately 30 square meters. Its exterior is mainly red with green tiles on the roof, with the bottom of the tiles painted with peonies, auspicious clouds and other patterns. The interior of the tower is mainly yellow. As of August 2014, the rooms are connected and only have pillars and have not yet become independent rooms. The two towers are each preceded by two yards of a 10 rooms in length, surrounding the Yanchi towers. == In popular culture ==

Chen Sheng's "One Night in Beijing": The song's inspiration comes from when Chen Sheng (also known as Bobby Chen) was wandering around Di'anmen whilst drunk. The song itself is about a poignant love story of Di'anmen during the Han–Xiongnu War. == See also ==