Photography A Five-Part Pailou Arch in Front of the Main Entrance

A black-and-white photograph showing a five-part memorial triumphal arch (pailou 牌樓) from the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) in front of the Zhengyang Gate (Zhengyangmen 正陽門), better known as the Front Gate (Qianmen 前門). Bicycles are parked on the main street under the memorial arch, and a rickshaw driver stands across the street waiting. In the background are a number of moving rickshaws and pedestrians.

Imperial Beijing consisted of three main parts separated by walls from each other and from the areas outside the city. The Outer City (Waicheng 外城) was located in the southern part of the city. In the north stood the Inner City (Neicheng 内城), which enclosed the third part, the famous Forbidden City (Gugong 故宫 or Zijincheng 紫禁城). The central gate between the outer and inner quarters was the Zhengyang Gate (Zhengyangmen 正陽門), better known as the Front Gate (Qianmen 前門).

The memorial triumphal arch is a traditional architectural element in China. It is usually built to commemorate an important person or as an entrance to important places. The memorial triumphal arch with its multi-part structure arches over several parallel streets. It is usually built of wood or stone and has three passages, with the main passage in the middle and two side passages. The more important the person was, the more passages the memorial triumphal arch had. The communist regime demolished many of the arches in the city, viewing them as remnants of feudalism.

The photograph is the 98th of 449 photographs of Beijing and its surroundings in the album of Ivan Skušek Jr., purchased during his stay in Beijing (1914–1920). In the handwritten inventory of the album, the photograph is referred to as 5-teiliger Ming-Pailou vor Tsien-Men. (DZ, MV)