Beijing City Fortifications - Preservation

Preservation

The call for restoration of the ancient architecture grew stronger in the period leading up to the 29th Olympiad, hosted in Beijing. Demands for a complete or partial reconstruction of the original "凸"-shaped city defence system were made. The recently completed reconstruction of Yongdingmen is one example of such work, and will likely be followed by others in the future. A restored Inner and Outer city moat system will become part of the public waterway network; reconstruction of the three gates on the south of the city's central axis (and possibly all nine gates and three corner guard towers of the Inner city) is being discussed by officials. However, the former sites of gates such as Fuchengmen, Chaoyangmen, and Xuanwumen, are now busy roads with high rises and other major developments. An alternative would be to reconstruct them nearby, at less crowded sites. Some of the more likely projects are the restoration of the remaining fortifications and the reconstruction of parts of the city walls, projects which are less daunting and require much less funding. Between 2001 and 2003, the extant section of the Inner city wall just south of the Beijing train station was completely restored and was opened to the public as the Ming Dynasty City Wall Site Public Park. More wall segments were added to the park in 2005 and 2006. The Southeastern corner guard tower is being restored and will also form part of the park. Restoration of the section of the city wall near the Beijing Ancient Observatory and its enemy sight tower are in the planning stages, as well as the barbican at Zhengyangmen.