Society

Plan to rebuild Di'anmen canceled

By Xing Yu (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2011-07-04 10:54

A plan announced by Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage to rebuild Di'anmen, a missing gate on the capital's central axis, has been cancelled as it may disrupt traffic.

Reports that the gate, known as a brother castle of Tian'anmen, may be rebuilt first surfaced in March 2011.

Built in 1420, Di'anmen was demolished in 1955 as part of a new traffic plan. But city officials considered reconstructing the ancient gate after applying for world cultural heritage status.

An expert from the committee of Beijing history and culture protection told Beijing News in June that the plan could be scraped if it is built on original site due to traffic concerns, and to rebuild it elsewhere would be meaningless.

Some experts have suggested there should be a memorial sign at the site.