Chongwenmen

Chongwenmen in 1902

Chongwenmen (Chinese: 崇文門; pinyin: Chóngwénmén; Manchu: Šu be wesihulere duka) is the name of a gate that was once part of Beijing's city wall. The gate stood in the southeastern part of Beijing's inner city, immediately south of the old Beijing Legation Quarter. In the 1960s, the gate was torn down to make room for Beijing's second ring road. It has given its name to Chongwen District of Beijing municipality. Today, Chongwenmen is a transport node in Beijing as well as the name of a station on Lines 2 and 5 of the Beijing Subway.

During the Yuan dynasty, the gate was called Wenmingmen (文明門). Because the residence of the Mongol prince Hada was located close by, the gate was also popularly known as Hadamen (哈達門; 哈大門) or Hademen (哈德門). The name Hademen survived well into the twentieth century, and was even the name of a popular cigarette brand. The Hademen Hotel now overlooks where the gate once stood.

Chongwenmen intersection in 2007, with the Hademen Hotel, named after Chongwenmen's colloquial name visible at right

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