Deshengmen (; lit. "Gate of Virtuous Triumph") is a city gate that was once part of

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

's northern city wall. It is one of Beijing's few preserved city gates and now stands as a landmark on the northern

2nd Ring Road The 2nd Ring Road () is the innermost ring road highway which encircles the city center of Beijing, People's Republic of China. (The first ring road had been a circular tram route.) The ring road can be divided into two parts: the original ring ...

. Latimer D. (2014) ''The Improbable Beijing Guidebook'', Sinomaps, Beijing, , p.69 The original gate complex, built in 1437, was composed of three structures – the gatehouse, archery tower, and

barbican A barbican (from fro, barbacane) is a fortified outpost or fortified gateway, such as at an outer defense perimeter of a city or castle, or any tower situated over a gate or bridge which was used for defensive purposes. Europe In the Middle A ...

. The gatehouse proper was demolished in 1921, and the city wall was torn down in 1969. Today only the archery tower and the barbican survives. They overlook the northern city moat, and house an ancient coin exhibition inside. Deshengmen is now a major transportation node in northern Beijing. The gate complex is surrounded by the Deshengmen bridge, a rotary overpass that channels traffic from the 2nd Ring Road to the Badaling Expressway. The street that once passed through the gate is still named in relation to it. South of Deshengmen and inside the old city wall is Deshengmen Inner Street. To the north, it is called Deshengmen Outer Street. Deshengmen means "Gate of Virtuous Triumph." In traditional times, the imperial military would march out of Beijing through Deshengmen, and return through Andingmen, the Gate of Peace and Stability.

Public transportation

Line 2 of the

Beijing Subway The Beijing Subway is the rapid transit system of Beijing Municipality that consists of 25 lines including 20 rapid transit lines, two airport rail links, one maglev line and 2 light rail lines, and 463 stations. The rail network extends ...

stops near Deshengmen at Jishuitan Station. Deshengmen is the terminus for many Beijing Bus routes, as well as a tourist bus that goes to

Badaling Badaling () is the site of the most visited section of the Great Wall of China, approximately northwest of Beijing's city center, in Badaling Town, Yanqing District (within Beijing municipality). The portion of the wall running through the ...

Great Wall.

References

Gates of Beijing Xicheng District Ming dynasty architecture Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Beijing Neighbourhoods_of_Beijing Road transport in Beijing Tourist attractions in Beijing {{Beijing-geo-stub