Exposed ruins
On the lower level.
Windmemories — CC BY-SA 4.0 · 开封王 — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Robert Schediwy — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Robert Schediwy — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Windmemories — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Windmemories — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Windmemories — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Windmemories — CC BY-SA 4.0
The main gate of the outer city of Luoyang under the Sui and Tang dynasties, built when Emperor Yang of Sui raised the Eastern Capital; it was called the Jianguo Gate before taking the name Dingding under the Tang, and it stayed a main gate for successive dynasties up to the Northern Song, some 530 years, making it the longest-used capital gate of ancient China. Excavations revealed a unique design in which the gate's front ran in a straight line 143 metres from east to west, made up of a central platform, raised corridors and two towers on either side, and the grand avenue known as the «Heavenly Street» ran north from it along the city's central axis. In 2009 a museum was built over the site, recreating the gate in Tang style with its walls and towers, while its lower level shows the exposed original ruins, including traces of roads worn by carts more than a thousand years ago; the site is part of the «Silk Roads» World Heritage listing of 2014. Entry is free with advance booking, per visitor guides. It lies about 5 kilometres south of Yingtian Gate, on the same axis.
On the lower level.
Over a thousand years old.
On the city's axis.
Dingding South Avenue, Luolong District, Luoyang
Yes, entry is free with advance booking, per visitor guides.
