The history of You'anmen

In ancient times, the name of You'anmen in Beijing was not based on the attributes of "left west and right east" on the modern map, but the orientation measured from the perspective of the inner court (the Forbidden City). Therefore, the one located in the southwest of the Forbidden City is called You'anmen, while the one in the southeast is called Zuo'anmen. It embodies the concept of unification that dominates the world. You'anmen originally had one gate and one floor. The You'anmen Gate Tower is a single-story, single-eaves, resting-mountain style. The urn is in the shape of a semicircle. The watchtower is a single-eaves, resting-mountain style. There are two layers of arrow windows on the south side, with 7 holes on each floor. There are also two layers of arrow windows on the east and west sides. , with three holes on each floor, and a wooden square door in the middle of the side. You'anmen is the westernmost gate among the three gates in the south wall of Beijing's outer city. South of You'anmen, close to the South Third Ring Road, used to be the Jingfengmen of Jinzhongdu. Because You'anmen faces Xuanwumen in the inner city, it was called "Xuanwu Outer Gate" when it was first built, and was later renamed You'anmen. You'anmen is located at the junction of Xicheng and Fengtai districts. You'anmen Overpass is located in the middle of the South Second Ring Road, connecting Kaiyang Bridge in the east, Caihuying in the west, Cherry Orchard in the north, and Cuilin Community in the south. It has become an important transportation hub in the southern area of ??Beijing.

You'anmen area is the original Jingfengmen area of ??Jinzhongdu. Within Jingfengmen is Kaiyangfang and Kaiyangli community. This place name has a long history and has been in existence for more than 900 years.

Cuilin Community used to be called Huayuan Village. Why it was called Huayuan Village? It was because in the Yuan Dynasty, there was a man named Lian Xixian who built a garden in the southwest of Dadu and planted a lot of it. The willow tree was also named Wanliu Hall. The southwest place name of Yuquanying is called Wanliu Garden, and there is still "Wanliu Bridge" on the Southwest Third Ring Road to this day.

You'anmen originally had a simple bridge spanning the moat. Above it is a gray and rough cement railing, which has no aesthetic value at all. It is the dividing point between the outer right and the inner right, and is an important passage connecting Fengtai District and Xicheng District.

During the Cultural Revolution, a square pillar stood on each side of the bridge on the east and west sides, with slogans written on them, tall and eye-catching in yellow characters on a red background. Inside the No. 51 terminal is the largest enterprise in You'anmen - the Fourth Automobile Repair Factory, known as the "Fourth Factory". There is a non-staple food store to the east of the exit of the No. 5 parking lot, which was called the "Second Store" at the time. It has a prominent front and a narrow road. Buses and cars are huge. Every time I encounter the wrong car, the traffic is often blocked. Next door to the north of the second store is a halal butcher shop. Further north there is a yarn shop that sells needle thread, zippers, elastic bands, and clam oil. Adjacent to the north was a health clinic, which was called a "small hospital" at that time. The doctor's surname is Zhang. He is bald and speaks in a soft voice. The small hospital is at the entrance of the alley. On the north side of the alley, there is an old resident named Wei. He is one of the few educated families in You'anmen. He suffered greatly during the Cultural Revolution and almost all his family was destroyed. It is said that the descendants were promising, but now their whereabouts are unknown. Further north, there is a public toilet, known as the "official latrine". The light at the door is as dim as a bean. A few steps to the north there is a narrow road called Banbuqiao Street.

Around 2000, there were some restaurants on the west side of Qiaonan, selling popular stir-fries and cheap cold dishes, as well as liquor for a few cents. There is a grocery store to the south that sells household items for urban and rural people. It is the current area of ??Yulin. At that time, this area was called "Er Tiao". The north side of the bridge is called "Qiaotouer". To the east is the No. 5 bus terminal, and to the west is the No. 19 and No. 51 bus terminals. Route 5 goes northeast, passing Qianmen and Drum Tower to Deshengmen; Route 19 goes northwest, passes Guang'anmen and Fuxing Gate to the Zoo; Route 51 goes south to Fengtai. These three lines all terminate in You'anmen, so it is very convenient for everyone. However, the above three lines were extended in the subsequent bus optimization plan.

To the north of the street is a large red building - the dormitory of the Ministry of Light Industry. Further north is the Second Normal School and the First Affiliated Primary School, which is an old primary school. Then there's Liren Street, (south) Cherry Orchard. This is Qiaotou Road East. There is a grain store running west to north on Qiaotou Road. There is a narrow road running east-west to the north of the store. There is a tap at the intersection, known as "Jingtai'er". This is the only water source in this area. At that time, every household had a shoulder pole and bucket to carry water. There is a red building on the north side of the well platform, which was called "Zidi Primary School" at that time. I don’t know whose children studied there and got this name. Later it was changed to 148 Middle School. In the north corner of the building, there was a tailor shop. I don't remember if it also ran laundry and dyeing, so it was called a service station. There was Aunt Zhu inside, who had a big nose, wore sleeves, and was very kind. Across the street to the north is a large residential area, all of which are gray three-story buildings, which were sometimes called "grey buildings" and even became a place name.

The north side of Huilou is close to the cherry orchard and no longer belongs to You'anmen.