Deshengmen

A surviving archery tower of the old northern city wall, standing on a busy ring-road junction as one of the few remaining gate structures of the capital. Historically the gate through which armies marched out on campaign, its name carries connotations of victory. The tall brick tower, pierced with tiers of arrow windows above a massive base, now sits amid modern traffic yet preserves the silhouette of the vanished walls. A small museum of ancient coins occupies part of the structure, and buses to the great wall depart nearby.