Live Your Best Lives
Deshengmen Arrow Tower is located on the west side of the northern wall of Beijing City. It is one of the nine gates in the inner city of Beijing. It was built in the second year of the Zhengtong Period of the Ming Dynasty (1437).
The Deshengmen Arrow Tower and the Wengcheng together form a military fortress to protect the city gate. The Zhenwu Temple in the Wengcheng was restored in 1992. The Arrow Tower now hosts historical ancient coin exhibitions all year round.
Attraction Location: Deshengmen, Xicheng District, Beijing (北京市西城区德胜门)
History: The Deshengmen Arrow Tower (德胜门箭楼) was originally built in 1437 during the Ming Dynasty as part of Beijing’s northern city wall defense system. “Desheng” means “Victory,” as this gate was traditionally used by the imperial army when heading to battle in the north and returning in triumph.
Architecture: The Arrow Tower is a tall, rectangular brick-and-stone building, once part of a three-part gate system with a gatehouse and barbican. It features Ming military architecture, with thick walls, arrow slits for defense, and a commanding presence overlooking the northern approach to the city. Today, only the Arrow Tower remains, preserved as an important cultural relic.
Cultural Value: The tower is a symbol of Beijing’s military past, representing its strategic northern defense line. It also marks the starting point of the famous Beijing–Guangzhou (京广大道) ancient post road. Today, it is an important landmark and cultural memory for Beijingers.
Other Information: The tower stands near the modern 2nd Ring Road and the Drum Tower (鼓楼). It is often seen as a symbolic “northern gate” of old Beijing.
Opening Hours: 09:00–17:00 (may vary by season)
Ticket Price: Free for exterior viewing
Small exhibitions inside (if open) may charge around 10–20 RMB
Best Photo Spots: Front view of Deshengmen Arrow Tower (德胜门箭楼) from the main road
Side view with modern traffic surrounding the old tower
Top view from nearby overpass at sunset
Time Reference: 30 minutes to 1 hour for viewing and photography
2–3 hours if combined with nearby Drum Tower (鼓楼) and Bell Tower (钟楼)
Other Information: Currently the interior is not always open to the public, so most visitors admire the exterior architecture.
The ancient battlefield back then, the prosperous place today, is really full of emotion
The two famous defense battles of Beijing by Yu Qianhe and Yuan Chonghuan were both fought here!
Grand Canal (Shichahai), Drum Tower, Deshengmen
Play time 1-2 hours
Shichahai Subway Station, shared bicycles
In the evening, we first walked along the Grand Canal, then went to the Bell and Drum Tower and had dinner. After dark, we went to Deshengmen to take pictures of the night view, and then returned to Shichahai Bar Street for a drink. It was beautiful.
Coming back from Badaling on a long trip, I passed by the preserved gatehouse, which was very impressive.
There are many cultural and sports shopping malls in the Deshengmen area, including the Arts and Crafts Building and the Stationery Building. Art students can go here to purchase their favorite art tools.
Deshengmen Arrow Tower is an ancient city gate with a museum inside. It is a good place to visit and learn a lot of knowledge.
Beat the foreign tribes
He captured thousands of people
Singing a triumphant song
Stride through Deshengmen
How majestic
Today, your door is just a waiting area
There is an ancient coin museum under Deshengmen. The ticket price is 20 yuan per person. You can climb up the city wall from the museum. Attached is a photo of the moat near Deshengmen.
建築本身就那樣吧，主要是這裡可以搭車去八達嶺長城，所以從長城回來後也可以進去逛逛
To take the regular Route 877 bus, you must go to the parking lot behind Deshengmen Arrow Tower. Route 877 buses in other places are fake and cannot be trusted.
One of the remaining city gates (part of the city gate) of old Beijing, the back gate of Beijing City, where the victorious warriors entered through this gate.
Can climb the wall
Although this place is not a tourist attraction, it is indeed the starting point for major attractions. The Arrow Tower is a landmark building. Deshengmen is the starting point for visiting Desheng (safely) and returning.
Deshengmen Arrow Tower is located on the west side of the northern wall of Beijing City and is one of the nine city gates in Beijing's inner city.
The Deshengmen Arrow Tower and the Wengcheng together form a military fortress to protect the city gate, which is also the difference between the Arrow Tower and the city gate. The Deshengmen Arrow Tower has no doorway or city gate.
The Arrow Tower holds historical ancient coin exhibitions all year round, with a ticket price of 4 yuan.
There are nine gates in Beijing, each with its own purpose. In the feudal dynasty era, the emperor drank spring water from Yuquan Mountain. The water carts that brought water to the emperor entered and exited from Xizhimen, and the coal carts that brought coal to the court entered and exited from Fuchengmen. The emperor's chariots for offering sacrifices to heaven and earth entered and exited from Zhengyangmen. Chaoyangmen was for grain carts, Dongzhimen was for firewood carts, Chongwenmen was for wine carts, Xuanwumen was for criminal carts, and Andingmen was for war chariots. When the troops returned from a victorious battle, they had to enter Deshengmen.
There is now a subway station and a bus stop at Deshengmen, but it is quite winding.
Deshengmen, which means "win with virtue" or "win with a flag", looks good. We took bus No. 919 to Deshengmen to go to Badaling. There were all kinds of cars, including private cars, taxis, and buses. It felt a bit mixed. Those who have been there remind you to take the right bus to Badaling Great Wall.
As one of the few preserved gatehouses in Beijing, it is still very distinctive. You don’t have to go inside to see it, just admire it from a distance.
The Deshengmen Arrow Tower has been hosting historical ancient coin exhibitions for many years.
I saw one when I came back from the Great Wall by bus. It was quite unique.
There are still many city towers in Beijing. This one is now an ancient coin exhibition hall.
The Deshengmen Arrow Tower and the Wengcheng together constitute a military fortress to protect the city gate. It was first built in the second year of the Zhengtong period of the Ming Dynasty (1437). Since then, the city gate and the Arrow Tower have been repaired in successive dynasties. In 1951, the state allocated funds for repairs. In 1980, it was fully renovated again. In 1982, a cultural relic protection institute was established and opened to the public. In 1992, the Zhenwu Temple in the Wengcheng was restored. The Arrow Tower now holds historical ancient coin exhibitions all year round.
Deshengmen Arrow Tower is one of the only two arrow towers in the inner city of Beijing's second ring road. Desheng means victory. In the past, people would enter the city from this gate after winning a battle. Under the tower is the bus to Badaling Great Wall.
After dinner, we walked to Deshengmen, a city gate with an urn, which is very unique. Unfortunately, it was at night and I took the photo with my phone, so the result was not very good. My colleague jokingly said it looked like a horror movie, haha...
This is where you can take bus No. 877 to the Great Wall. It's 12 yuan with a 38% discount by credit card, which is very cheap. This building is a cultural relic and there seems to be a coin museum next to it.
I happened to pass by here. In the morning, many people would take the bus from here to the Badaling Great Wall. It looked nice, so I just took a look.
Between Qianmen and Qianmen Street, you can see it every time you stand at the entrance of Qianmen Street. It is very magnificent.
The historical relic "Deshengmen Arrow Tower" stands in the noisy and busy city, and is quiet in the midst of the hustle and bustle. The Deshengmen Inner Street and Deshengmen Outer Street pass around its two sides. Although the "Deshengmen Arrow Tower" is a key cultural relic in Beijing, it is very small, with almost no other tourists and only a few staff members occasionally seen, but this cannot obliterate the historical value of the existence of "Deshengmen". There is an old saying in Beijing, which is not sure whether it is true or not: "Deshengmen came first, and then Beijing City", which tells the ins and outs of Deshengmen. There are nine gates in the inner city of old Beijing, each with its own purpose. Zhengyangmen is used for the emperor's chariot for offering sacrifices to heaven and earth, Chaoyangmen is used for grain carts, Fuchengmen is used for coal carts, Dongzhimen is used for firewood carts, Xizhimen is used for water carts, Chongwenmen is used for wine carts, Xuanwumen is used for criminal carts, and Andingmen is used for war carts. When the troops returned to the court after a victory in a war, they entered Deshengmen. Entering the Arrow Tower, there is a "Military City Defense Culture Exhibition", which introduces the purpose, building structure, and regulations of Beijing's city gates and walls during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the organization of soldiers guarding the city, various siege and defense weapons, and the historical evolution of Deshengmen itself, including some old photos and cultural relics. Going up the tower is the temporary exhibition area, where the "Silk Road Coin Language" - Silk Road Ancient Country Coin Culture Exhibition is being held.