Dongzhimen

Dongzhimen in 1908

The landmark of Dongzhimen today - the headquarters of China National Petroleum Corporation/PetroChina

Dongzhimen (simplified Chinese: 东直门; traditional Chinese: 東直門; pinyin: Dōngzhímén; Manchu: Tob dergi duka; lit. "East Straight Gate") is the name of one of the gates in the old Beijing city fortifications, it is now a commercial centre and transportation node in Beijing. ^[1]

History

The Marquis of Extended Grace lived near Dongzhimen.

Transport

The 2nd Ring Road currently links with two roads which eventually become the Airport Expressway and China National Highway 101. A new flyover, and a new express road connects directly with the Airport Expressway.

The Beijing subway network has a node stop at Dongzhimen, where Lines 2 and 13 connect. Line 13 has its eastern terminus at Dongzhimen. The Airport Express railway line also terminates at Dongzhimen.

Dongzhimen also has an extensive public bus hub just outside the Dongzhimen station. Buses 3, 18, 24, 44, 75, 106, 107, 117, 123, 130, 131, 132, 359, 401, 404, 413, 416, 418, 612, 635, 688, 850, 850快, 852, 855, 866, 867, 909, 915, 915快, 916, 916快, 918, 935, 935快, 936, 942, 942快, 955, 966, 974, 980, 980快, 特2, 特12, 夜6, 夜10, 夜20, 夜32 all stop at Dongzhimen. All the buses numbered greater than 800 start from a long-distance bus station area, which serves a wide range of locations inside and outside of Beijing. This includes special buses to the Great Wall and long-distance buses to the mountains and caves north of Beijing and smaller suburban towns such as Pinggu.

Ghost Street

West of Dongzhimen is Guijie (簋街), or "Food vessel street" (Dongzhimen Inner Street), extremely well known to locals as a food street. The character for Gui (簋) refers to a round-mouthed bamboo container for food. The name is frequently mistaken for a similar-sounding word, meaning "ghost", so some refer to the street as "Ghost street".

Guijie is located within Dongzhimen, East of the street from Second Ring Road of the Western part of the Dongzhimen overpass and West of the street from East Main Street eastern end crossing. Gui Street now showcases many excellent cuisines. Stretching over one kilometer, 90% of the commercial shops in the street house more than 150 eateries.

Nearby areas

Connecting to the east of Dongzhimen is Dongzhimen Outer Street, which connects with the Northern Diplomatic Area and ultimately to the 3rd Ring Road as well as the National Agricultural Exhibition Hall.

1.5 km from Dongzhimen lies the nearby Sanlitun (三里屯) bar street, well-known to the expat community located in the heart of Beijing's North Diplomatic Area.

References

Coordinates: 39°56′28″N 116°26′01″E / 39.9411°N 116.4336°E / 39.9411; 116.4336