Starting from the center point of Yongdingmen, which was demolished in the south, it passes through Zhengyangmen, Tian'anmen, Noon Gate, Taihe Temple, Zhonghe Temple, Baohe Temple, Qianqing Palace, Kunning Palace, Shenwumen, Wanchun Pavilion, Shouhuang Temple, Drum Tower, and finally arrives at the center of the Bell Tower, with a total length of 7.86 kilometers. This central axis strings together the fourfold city, namely the outer city, the inner city, the Imperial City and the Forbidden City.
The city of Beijing is centered on this central axis, forming an east-west symmetrical pattern, which is thus expressed in the names of the places.
Beijing's clearer central axis began in the Jin Dynasty, with an imperial road running through the Fengyi Gate of the outer city, the Xuanyang Gate of the Imperial City, and the Yingtian Gate of the Palace City, but there were no notable buildings on the royal road. Yuan Dynasty, the central axis was formally formed, the location of the center line in the old Drum Tower Street and its extension to the south, over the Taiyi Pond (today's Beihai and Zhongnanhai) on the east bank of the palace in the center of the city, directly to the outer city in the middle of the LiZhengMen. To the Ming Dynasty, the rulers will move the Beijing central axis to the east 150 meters, and eventually formed such a pattern now, the purpose is to highlight the Palace, not with the West Garden Taiyi Pond together, avoiding the Qionghua Island and the West Haizi numerous buildings and pavilions, the middle of the corresponding space, more so that the Palace appears to be condensed and rich, the only one of its kind. Therefore, the Beijing central axis is actually not entirely in the city center line, such as the distance between the Zhengyangmen and Chongwenmen than the distance between the Xuanwumen and more than 200 meters closer.
The central axis was established to emphasize the centrality of the feudal empire, just as China was named China, meaning "the central country of the world". The overall layout of the city was centered on the central axis, with the temple on the left and the altar of the Gods of Jigji on the right; in front of the court and behind the market, i.e., "left ancestor, right community" and "front dynasty, back market", which made Beijing one of the most splendid cities in the world in terms of urban layout.
In order to reflect the central position of the feudal dynasty in the country, many famous buildings in Beijing are in the position of the central axis, such as Zhengyangmen, Tian'anmen Square, the Forbidden City where the emperor lived, the city's time reporting center, the bell, the Drum Tower, etc. These buildings are both the ancient capital of Beijing and the most important part of the city's history. These buildings are the symbols of the ancient capital Beijing as well as the symbols of Chinese civilization, and they hold a high position in the history of world civilization. Therefore, no one who travels to Beijing does not come here for a visit.
After the founding of New China, Tiananmen Square, the Monument to the People's Heroes, Chairman Mao's Memorial Hall and so on have been expanded one after another. People who have been to Beijing may be interested in many of the city's place names: there is Dongzhimen and Xizhimen; there is Dongsi and Xisi; there is Dongdan and Xidan; there is Dongbianmen and Xibianmen; there is Zuo'anmen and Right'anmen ...... What's going on here?
Originally, there are 2 famous central axes in the city of Beijing, and the other one is Chang'an Street.
Chang'an Street is famous all over the world, and has the name of "the first street in China". Chang'an Street was built in the Ming Dynasty, is the construction of the Forbidden City of Beijing, the Imperial City and the inner and outer city of the most important road. According to the relevant data, it was built at the same time with the Imperial City from the fourth to the eighteenth year of the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty (1406-1420), and was one of the important parts of the master plan for the construction of Beijing in the Ming Dynasty, with a history of 600 years. Chang'an Street, its name is taken from the left and right gates of Chang'an on both sides in front of Tian'anmen Square. After the founding of New China, in order to solve the traffic problem of Chang'an Street, in August 1952 will be Chang'an left and right door demolition.