Dongbianmen

A massive brick corner watchtower marking the southeastern angle of the former inner-city wall, one of the largest surviving structures of the capital's lost defenses. Bristling with rows of arrow-slit windows across its several storeys, it anchors the eastern end of the preserved wall park. Inside, a gallery documents the ring of gates and towers that once encircled the city and displays scars left by foreign artillery during the fighting of 1900. Its bulk beside busy rail lines is a striking reminder of the fortified capital.