Xinhua Gate was originally named Baoyue Tower. It was built in the 23rd year of Emperor Qianlong's reign (1758). In the spring of that year, Emperor Qianlong climbed Yingtai to look south and felt that the south bank of Taiye Lake was empty and without a screen, so he ordered the construction of this tower. Initially, it was planned to be three-story, but later it was considered too extravagant, so it was changed to a two-story building with a width of seven rooms from east to west and a length of two meters from north to south. It was completed in the autumn of the same year. Because the moon was reflected in the pool, the building stood beside the pool, and the pool and the moon were presented in front of the building, it was named "Baoyue Tower". On the top of the building hangs a plaque written by Emperor Qianlong, "Looking up and looking down", as well as couplets such as "Good joy in all four seasons, the picture is presented in the garden; the clear light is shared for thousands of miles, reflecting the center of the pool". Baoyue Tower was not connected to the outside world. To its south was the southern wall of the Western Garden (also the imperial city wall), and Baoyue Tower was located inside the wall. To the south of the wall was Huiziying (also known as Huihuiying), where Hui immigrants from the Western Regions lived and built a new mosque (namely Puning Mosque, commonly known as Huihuiying Mosque). Therefore, folk legend has it that Baoyue Tower was built by Emperor Qianlong for Xiangfei. Xiangfei could see the mosque outside the wall when she climbed up the Baoyue Tower, which relieved her homesickness. Based on this legend, folks also referred to Baoyue Tower as Wangxiang Tower. In 1913, under the supervision of Zhu Qiqin, the Minister of the Interior and the Director of the Kyoto Municipal Office, Baoyue Tower was rebuilt into the main gate of Zhongnanhai, called Xinhua Gate. The section of West Chang'an Street in front of Xinhua Gate was named "Fuqian Street", and the newly opened road on the west side of Zhongnanhai was named "Fuyou Street" ("Fu" refers to the Presidential Palace). Afterwards, the road rebuilt on the drainage ditch south of Liubukou was named "Xinhua Street" (now North Xinhua Street and South Xinhua Street). A Western-style flower wall was built on the south side of "Fuqian Street" opposite Xinhua Gate to cover the messy and dilapidated bungalows behind it and improve the appearance in front of the Presidential Palace. At the same time, the project also demolished the main gate of the Huiying Mosque on the north side. During the reconstruction project, a section of the imperial city wall on the south side of Baoyue Tower was demolished, and two new eight-shaped walls were built on the east and west sides to connect the imperial city wall and Baoyue Tower. This plaque is still hanging on the door today. A pair of stone lions are placed in front of the door, which are said to be relics of the original Prince Duan's Mansion. It is said that this was the largest pair of stone lions in the old city of Beijing. !" and the stone lions on the west wall According to the documentary "China" shot by Antonioni, at some time in 1972, the slogan on the eight-character wall on the east side of Xinhuamen was "Long live the great leader Chairman Mao!". In June 1981, the Sixth Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party reviewed and passed the "
Resolution on Certain Questions in the History of Our Party since the Founding of the People's Republic of China", which completely negated the Cultural Revolution. All parts of China began to clean up the traces of the Cultural Revolution such as slogans, quotations, and slogans. At the same time, the slogans and quotation boards left in Zhongnanhai were also cleaned up. The Central Security Bureau once specifically studied which slogans and quotations in Zhongnanhai should be cancelled and which should be retained, including the two slogans in front of Xinhua Gate and the words on the screen wall, and then reported to the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. In the end, the two slogans in front of Xinhua Gate and the words on the screen wall have been preserved to this day. Article 4 of the
National Emblem Law of the People's Republic of China, promulgated and implemented in 1991, stipulates that people's governments at or above the county level shall display the national emblem. In 1999, in order to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Xinhuamen area was renovated with lighting as part of the overall renovation of Chang'an Avenue. In August 2016, a colorful fence was erected in front of Xinhua Gate, and the renovation of Xinhua Gate was fully launched. The renovation was completed on August 14, and the gate was unveiled with a brand new look. == Architecture ==