Misplaced Pages

#19980

28-559: The Chaoyang Gate (the Gate Facing the Sun) was the main gate of the East City. The gate was demolished, along with the walls and moat of the East City in the 1950s and replaced with the 2nd Ring Road (Beijing) where the moat and walls had been, and an elevated roundabout-bridge where the gate had been. West of Chaoyangmen Bridge is Chaoyangmen Inner Street (Chaoyangmen Nei Dajie), which heads toward

56-430: A redevelopment in the 2000s by property developer SOHO China , shopfront tenants along Qianmen Street have been predominantly international brands which cater neither to local residents nor domestic visitors, with the result that Qianmen Avenue is now often largely deserted. Dashilanr is a well-known cross-street with a similar character. The Peking duck restaurant Quanjude is located on Qianmen Street. The Qianmen area

84-638: Is located just outside the Zhengyangmen Gate. It is marked with a plaque in the ground, with the four cardinal points, four animals, and "Zero Point of Highways, China" in English and Chinese. The area near Qianmen includes several areas of historical significance. The avenue which proceeds south from the Qianmen is known as "Qianmen Street", and has been a commercial centre for several centuries, although it now mainly caters to tourists from other parts of China. Since

112-404: Is not exactly true. The road instead mostly follows the former moat that surrounded the city wall; in places, the moat survives as a canal. The 2nd ring road was completed in the 1980s. All traffic lights were removed in the 1990s, and several new overpasses were built. In 2001, the 2nd Ring Road was overhauled. It was fully re-surfaced, and greenery substantially increased. Much of Line 2 of

140-502: Is the colloquial name for Zhengyangmen (simplified Chinese: 正阳门 ; traditional Chinese: 正陽門 ; pinyin: Zhèngyángmén ; Wade–Giles: Cheng-yang-men ; Manchu : ᡨᠣᠪ ᡧᡠᠨ ᡳ ᡩᡠᡴᠠ ; Möllendorff :tob šun-i duka, lit.   ' Gate of the Zenith Sun ' ), a gate in Beijing 's historic city wall . The gate is situated to the south of Tiananmen Square and once guarded

168-598: Is the headquarters of Sinopec Group . Further along Chaoyangmen-wai is the Zhihua Si Temple , a Buddhist temple constructed during the Ming Dynasty . China's Foreign Ministry building is situated to the southeastern part of the overpass bridge and roundabout. 39°55′26″N 116°26′01″E  /  39.9238°N 116.4336°E  / 39.9238; 116.4336 2nd Ring Road (Beijing) The 2nd Ring Road ( Chinese : 二环路 ; pinyin : èr huán lù )

196-509: 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 road (the southern section of which is now excluded from the current ring road), and the newly extended ring road. This article only covers the current (new) 2nd Ring Road. The 2nd Ring Road runs close to where Beijing's city walls once stood; numerous junctions bear

224-538: The Beijing Subway runs underneath the Second Ring Road. Many stations have exits on both sides of the road, with the exception of Andingmen . The former "old 2nd Ring Road" has an elliptical shape. Its northwest corner is at Xizhimen , the northeast corner is at Dongzhimen , and southern corners are at Dongbianmen and Xibianmen . The southern side is the so-called "Metro Road" which goes through Qianmen , at

252-510: The Chang'an Avenue . Although only Chinese characters are used, the characters themselves are coloured red, yellow or green according to the type of message. This and the map displays make it somewhat easier for non-Chinese speakers to understand. The Badaling Expressway is linked to (from the side road) at Deshengmen . A direct ramp connection from both directions to the Airport Expressway

280-623: The Jingtong Expressway and ultimately the Jingha Expressway . [Heading in a clockwise direction as of the Northern 2nd Ring Road] Notes: 39°53′53″N 116°23′12″E  /  39.89806°N 116.38667°E  / 39.89806; 116.38667 Qianmen Qianmen ( simplified Chinese : 前门 ; traditional Chinese : 前門 ; pinyin : Qiánmén ; Wade–Giles : Ch'ien-men ; lit. 'Front Gate')

308-655: The 1990s. However, due to the architectural value of the two villas they were preserved and passed to the Beijing Diocese of the Catholic Church for restoration and use as a church. East of Chaoyangmen Bridge is where Chaoyang District begins. Chaoyangmen Outer Street also begins east of the overpass, leading to the Chaowai area. The first building north east of the Chaoyangmen Bridge and exit of Chaoyangmen Station

SECTION 10

#1732852519020

336-451: The 2nd Ring Road, displaying information about current traffic. The information is only given in simplified Chinese characters at present. The western part of the 2nd Ring Road has "smart" electronic screens, automatically updated every five minutes. Traffic conditions are continuously monitored. Maps are also shown on them to notify drivers of road conditions at various parts of the road, including Jishuitan , Xizhimen , and Fuxingmen on

364-453: The 2nd Ring has few direct links to expressways. For cars and larger vehicles, there is no way to cross the 2nd Ring Road except at full junctions, or by making a U-turn under an overpass; pedestrians, cycles and motorcycles can make use of pedestrian overpasses. The speed limit is 80 km/ h except for sharply turning sections such as between Xiaojie Bridge and Dongzhimen. Speed checks are very frequent and cameras are often operating, some of

392-627: The Wangfujing, Dongdan and Dongsi areas. The first building north west of Chaoyangmen Bridge is the headquarters of CNOOC Group . The second building westwards is Beijing's most famous "haunted houses", two French-style villas at 81 Chaoyangmen Nei . The main villa was formerly the residence of the French manager of the Pinghan Railway Company until 1947, thereafter it became the offices of various government works until closed pending demolition in

420-722: The battle. The Qing Empire later violated the Boxer Protocol by having a tower constructed at the gate. The gate complex was extensively reconstructed in 1914. The barbican side gates were torn down in 1915. After the Communist victory in the Chinese Civil War in 1949, the Zhengyangmen gatehouse was occupied by the Beijing garrison of the People's Liberation Army . The military vacated

448-508: The gatehouse in 1980, which has now become a tourist attraction. At 42 metres high, the Zhengyangmen gatehouse was, and remains, the tallest of all gates in Beijing's city wall. Zhengyangmen gatehouse survived the demolition of city walls in the late 1960s during the construction of the Beijing Subway , while other gates such as Deshengmen in the north and Dongbianmen in the southeast only have their archery towers standing. Xibianmen retains only part of its barbican while Yongdingmen 's gatehouse

476-953: The gatehouse is aligned with Yongdingmen Gate to the south, the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong and the Monument to the People's Heroes in Tiananmen Square, the Tiananmen Gate itself, the Meridian Gate , and the imperial throne in the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City , the city's Drum and Bell Towers and the entrance to the Olympic Green in the far north. The kilometre zero point for highways in China

504-703: The late Qing dynasty , the gate sustained considerable damage when the Eight-Nation Alliance invaded the city. The Hui and Dongxiang Muslim Kansu Braves under Ma Fulu engaged in fierce fighting during the Battle of Beijing at Zhengyangmen against the Eight-Nation Alliance. Ma Fulu and 100 of his fellow Hui and Dongxiang soldiers from his home village died in that battle. Ma Fulu's cousins, Ma Fugui (馬福貴) and Ma Fuquan (馬福全), and his nephews, Ma Yaotu (馬耀圖) and Ma Zhaotu (馬兆圖), were killed in action during

532-418: The late 20th century, the road surface rapidly deteriorated. Prior to 2001, the road gave motorists an uncomfortable bumpy ride. Since the total resurfacing, driving on the road has been much more pleasant. Partial resurfacing work is ongoing. Located in the heart of the city, the 2nd Ring Road is also a transportation bottleneck . Traffic jams are common, and it is hard to find immediate alternative routes as

560-479: The locations of these are known, while some are hidden beneath bridges or behind screens. Traffic jams on the 2nd Ring Road have become a part of daily life. Nevertheless, their intensity varies. The northern stretch between Andingmen and Xiaojie Bridge is often jammed, particularly in the lead to the turn-off for the Airport Expressway. The same goes for part of the road around Deshengmen and all of

588-449: The old city gate's name. A small number of these city gates themselves still stand: Southeast corner tower , Deshengmen and Yongdingmen (which has been rebuilt). Most of the old city walls were pulled down shortly after the People's Republic of China was established in 1949. Although it was suggested that the 2nd Ring Road was built over the old city walls, by comparing current city maps with old maps of Beijing, it has been found this

SECTION 20

#1732852519020

616-449: The sites of many of the old city gates around Beijing. These include: Only Deshengmen and Yongdingmen (rebuilt 2005) still stand; the others were demolished in the 1950s and 1960s. Gates through which the former Inner 2nd Ring Road ("Metro Road") passes are: Only Zhengyangmen is still standing today. After completion in the 1980s, the design of the 2nd Ring Road was sufficient for its traffic load. However, as utilization increased in

644-485: The southern end of Tian'anmen Square . The new road is simply an extension of the western and eastern parts of the original 2nd Ring Road. It extends beyond Dongbianmen and Xibianmen, thus reaching Zuo'anmen to the southeast and the Caihuying overpass complex in the southwest. The extensions were known for a while as the external 2nd Ring Road , though this term is becoming more and more unpopular. The 2nd Ring Road passes

672-474: The southern entry into the Inner City. Although much of Beijing's city walls were demolished, Zhengyangmen remains an important geographical marker of the city. The city's central north–south axis passes through Zhengyangmen's main gate. It was formerly named Lizhengmen (simplified Chinese: 丽正门 ; traditional Chinese: 麗正門 ; pinyin: Lìzhèngmén ; lit. 'beautiful portal'). Zhengyangmen

700-755: The western side. The entire eastern side is frequently jammed due to its proximity to the Beijing CBD. Less frequently jammed traffic can be found on the southern stretch of the 2nd Ring Road from Caihuying through Zuo'anmen . While the 2nd Ring Road is often congested, unlike the 3rd Ring Road , it is never gridlocked. The 3rd Ring Road uses diamond interchanges , which includes traffic lights. These interchanges back up traffic and causes gridlock. The 2nd Ring Road instead employs mostly cloverleaf interchanges , which allows traffic to flow freely and without traffic lights, therefore eliminating traffic back up. Electronic message signs (or screens) are placed throughout

728-541: Was finished in 2006. The Jingkai Expressway is easily accessible by proceeding south to the complex-and-impressive Caihuying overpass. There are no direct connections from the 2nd Ring Road to the Jingshen Expressway , Jingjintang Expressway , or Jingcheng Expressway . It is possible to get to the Jingshi Expressway by heading southwest at Guang'anmen . Jianguomen links via Jianguomen Outer Street to

756-562: Was first built in 1419 during the Ming dynasty and once consisted of the gatehouse proper and an archery tower, which were connected by side walls and together with side gates, formed a large barbican . The gate guarded the direct entry into the imperial city. The city's first railway station, known as the Qianmen Station, was built just outside the gate. During the Boxer Rebellion of 1900 in

784-409: Was rebuilt in 2007. Today, Qianmen Avenue (Dajie) cuts between the Zhengyangmen gatehouse and the archery tower to the south. Line 2 's Qianmen Station is also located between the two structures inside the space once surrounded by the barbican. Qianmen remains one of the enduring symbols of old Beijing. The Zhengyangmen is situated on the central north–south axis of Beijing. The main gateway of

#19980