My New Year Trip | Climb the Zhengyangmen Arrow Tower and Feel the Ancient Charm of Beijing

As an important node on the central axis of Beijing, the Zhengyangmen Arrow Tower carries rich historical and cultural connotations and is a landmark building of the old city wall structure of Beijing. After careful restoration, it is reopened to the public for free. It is difficult to make a reservation, but I was lucky to get a ticket! My New Year trip was to climb the Zhengyangmen Arrow Tower and feel the ancient charm of Beijing up close. The Zhengyangmen Arrow Tower was built in the fourth year of the Zhengtong period of the Ming Dynasty (1439). During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it formed a group of city gate buildings with both defensive and ceremonial functions together with the Zhengyangmen Gate Tower, Wengcheng, etc. In 1988, it was announced as the third batch of "National Protection". In July 2024, the "Central Axis of Beijing" was successfully inscribed on the World Heritage List, and "Central Axis of Beijing: A Masterpiece of the Order of the Ideal Capital of China" was included in the World Heritage List. 🌈Highlights: ✅The arrow tower is a brick fortress with a city platform 12 meters high and a five-vaulted archway. It is the only city gate with an arrow tower opening in the nine gates of the inner city, and is used exclusively for dragon and phoenix carriages. ✅The arrow tower has a double-eave hip roof with gray tube tiles and green glazed tiles, with a total of four floors, 94 arrow windows, seven rooms, 62 meters wide, five rooms in the north, 42 meters wide, 24 meters high, and two doors, which have been destroyed three times. The arrow tower was repaired in 1901 and completed in 1906. ✅On February 3, 1949, the People's Liberation Army held a grand entrance ceremony here. ✅The exhibition "Central Axis of Beijing: A Masterpiece of the Order of the Ideal Capital of China" in the arrow tower explains in detail the heritage description, heritage value, protection and management of the central axis of Beijing, with physical objects, pictures and videos, and free explanations at different times, which is very informative! ✅From the arrow windows or platforms of the arrow tower, you can see buildings such as Dashilan, Zhengyangmen, the Great Hall of the People, China Zun, Laofuye Railway Station, and Yongdingmen Gate Tower. 🎫Tickets: Free, must be reserved in advance, no same-day tickets or on-site tickets ☸️Reservation method: Follow the WeChat official account "Beijing Central Axis Heritage Protection Center" to reserve tickets within 7 days from the next day, and the reservation time is 17:00 every day ⏰Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday 9:00-17:00 (last admission at 16:30), closed on Monday 🚗Transportation: Take bus No. 2, No. 599, subway line 2/7, etc.