The Zhengyang Gate Through the Archery Tower
The Qianmen in Beijing is actually composed of a couple of parts. The Qianmen is a local name for the Zhengyang Gate which counts as sort of the front gate of the Forbidden City. The first tower is the archery tower most probably used for defense of the city. The Zhengyang Gate is another tower inside the city. To get to the tower you need to go through the archery tower. The archery tower is located at a very busy section of the city so you need to be careful crossing the street.
Going Through the Archery Tower at Qianmen 前门
Going through the archery tower feels like going through the Tiananmen gate. It was large and imposing though certainly nowhere as imposing as the former. The archery tower serves as a mere prelude to the larger buildings up front. I wonder why I didn’t start my exploration of the Forbidden City here. Anyway, there didn’t seem to be any way for me to climb up the archery tower. I didn’t think it would be that interesting with the Zhenyang Gate in the way.
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