Gate towers
With tiered red roofs.
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The southern gate of Luoyang's imperial city under the Sui and Tang dynasties, and perhaps the largest city gate of ancient China; it was built in 605 as the Zetian Gate and renamed Yingtian in 705, and it was the stage for state ceremonies and for receiving foreign envoys, among them Japan's, so that Japan's old capitals Nara and Kyoto built gates bearing the same name. It was here that Empress Wu Zetian proclaimed herself emperor, the only woman to rule China with that title; the gate was later destroyed under the Northern Song, its foundations lying underground until it was rebuilt on its original site in 2016. The modern gate rises about 35 metres, with towers under tiered red roofs and wings on either side; inside, visitors can see the exposed foundations of the original gate, it is lit at night with light shows in front of it, and nearby stands the site of the «Bright Hall» the empress built in 688, whose ruins were found in 1986 and are now covered by a protective hall opened in 2011. Tickets cost about CNY 60, or CNY 30 concession, and it opens from 9:00 to 21:00, and until 22:00 in the April peony season, per visitor guides. The evening, when it is lit, is the loveliest time.
With tiered red roofs.
Exposed inside.
After dark.
Dingding Road and Kaiyuan Road, Laocheng District, Luoyang
Tickets cost about CNY 60, or CNY 30 concession, and it opens from 9:00 to 21:00, per visitor guides.
