Photography Exterior in Front of the City Gate Dongbian

A black-and-white photograph showing a side view of the Eastern City Wall with the Dongbian Gate (Dongbianmen 東便門) in Beijing, and the exterior view, with a defensive moat in front of the wall. On top of the wall is a fort – a typical architectural element in China. The fort or guard house is built of bricks. Below it is the city gate.

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). Three city gates were located on the eastern outer wall of the inner quarters. The southernmost was the Dongbian Gate.

The photograph is the 96th 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 Ausserhalb Dong-Bien-Men’s. (DZ, MV)