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PAILOU-DECORATED ARCHWAYS


The pailou is a cultural symbol of Chinese architecture and it came in a great variety of forms. Researchers found that its first appearance dates far back to the Zhou Dynasty. Beijing used to have more decorated pailou than any other city in the world. Incomplete statistics show that there used to be more than 300 well known pailou in Beijing, of which over 100 remain at scenic spots.
Famous pailou included the one on Qianmen Avenue, the one on Eastern Chang’an Avenue, the one of Western Chang’an Avenue, the one in Dongjiaominxiang Lane (Legation Quarter in Peking), the one in Xijiaominxiang Lane, the one at Temple of Monarchs, and the one before Dagaoxuan Hall at Jingshan Front Street. They were demolished in the 1950s to make way for traffic. Most of the remaining pailou are located before the gates of temples. The one in Temple of Earth, for instance, has been re-lacquered. The pailou in Zhongshan Park was originally located at the end of the lane of Western Headquarters at Dongdan and named Monument to Ketteler,(after a German ambassador to China). Nowadays it is placed to Central Park and the name was changed to ‘Victory of Justice’. Unfortunately, the most characteristic structure of Old Beijing, omnipresent pailou like hutong and siheyuan , they have almost disappeared without a trace. Such famous downtown areas as Dongdan, Xidan, Dongsi and Xisi were all named after the pailou that used to be there (Dongdan Pailou, Dongxi Pailou, Xidan Pailou and Xisi Pailou). Also demolished were many pailou so familiar to old Beijing dwellers, such as the one on Zhengyangmen Avenue, the one on Eastern Chang’an Avenue, and the one on Western Chang’an Avenue.

Written by Beijing Apartments Team, May 2008

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