A Capital Shaped by History

Beijing under the Qing Dynasty (1644–1912) was a city of walls within walls—a meticulously organized urban space where imperial power, military order, and civilian life intersected. Covering just 0.5% of modern Beijing’s area (roughly within today’s Second Ring Road), the city was divided into distinct zones: the Inner City (Neicheng), Outer City (Waicheng), Imperial City (Huangcheng), and the Forbidden City (Zijincheng). This spatial hierarchy mirrored the Qing Empire’s social stratification, with the emperor at its symbolic and geographic center.

The city’s distinctive “凸”-shaped layout originated from Ming Dynasty urban planning, with the southern Outer City added during the Jiajing reign (1522–1566) as an incomplete expansion project. Unlike today’s sprawling metropolis, landmarks like the Summer Palace and Old Summer Palace were considered suburban retreats, emphasizing how compact yet intensely organized Qing Beijing truly was.

Gates and Grids: The Nine Gates of Power

The Inner City’s nine gates (内城九门) were far more than passageways—each served specialized functions reflecting Beijing’s economic and military life:

– Deshengmen (德胜门): The “Gate of Virtuous Victory” saw troop departures for auspicious symbolism. Its counterpart Andingmen (安定门) welcomed returning soldiers, embodying “stability.”
– Xizhimen (西直门): As the “Water Gate,” it channeled spring water from Jade Spring Hill to the imperial household.
– Dongzhimen (东直门): The “Timber Gate” distributed wood transported via the Grand Canal.
– Fuchengmen (阜成门): Marked by a carved plum blossom (梅, homophonous with “coal”), this was the coal gateway from western mines.
– Chaoyangmen (朝阳门): Adorned with wheat sheaves, it managed grain shipments from southern China.

The three southern gates—Zhengyangmen (正阳门, “Front Gate”), Chongwenmen (崇文门), and Xuanwumen (宣武门)—formed a cultural axis where civil (崇文) and military (宣武) virtues flanked the central imperial thoroughfare.

The Great Divide: 1648 Residential Segregation

A pivotal 1648 edict by the Shunzhi Emperor enforced strict residential segregation:

> “After repeated consideration, we decree that all Han officials and commoners shall relocate to the Southern City… so Manchu and Han may dwell separately without conflict.”

This “Banner-Han Separation” policy (旗民分治) emptied the Inner City of non-Banner civilians, compensating them with 4 taels per room. Eight Banner garrisons then occupied the Inner City in precise formations:

– North: Two Yellow Banners (imperial dominance)
– East: Two White Banners
– West: Two Red Banners
– South: Two Blue Banners

Housing allocations followed military ranks, from 20 rooms for first-degree officials to two rooms for common soldiers. The system turned the Inner City into a vast military encampment—at least on paper.

When Walls Fail: The Erosion of Segregation

Despite rigid laws, Qing Beijing witnessed creeping integration:

1. Economic Necessity: Han shopkeepers supplying the Banner population increasingly stayed overnight illegally, voiding the curfew.
2. Property Sales: By the Kangxi era (1662–1722), cross-Banner and even Banner-Han property transactions undermined residential purity.
3. Forbidden Pleasures: Despite bans, theaters and gambling dens proliferated in the Inner City by the 1800s, especially near entertainment hubs like Dashilan (大栅栏).

This gradual blending revealed the Qing’s pragmatic flexibility beneath its ethnic hierarchy.

Nightwatch State: The Mechanics of Control

Beijing’s security apparatus combined military and civil governance:

– The Nine Gates Commander (提督九门步军巡捕五营统领) oversaw the Bujunying (步军营, Inner City patrols) and Xunbu Ying (巡捕营, Outer City forces).
– 2,000+ Wooden Gates: Streets were segmented by night-closing栅栏 (zhàlan), with Dashilan’s massive gate becoming a landmark.
– Night Patrols: The宵禁 (xiāojìn) curfew allowed movement only for weddings, funerals, or medical emergencies—all meticulously logged. Violators faced 50 lashes (Banner people) or cane strikes (civilians).

A notable loophole: the Zhengyangmen gate opened briefly at midnight for officials and wayward Bannermen sneaking back—a practice called “reverse gating” (倒赶城).

Legacy in Stone and Memory

The Qing cityscape still echoes in modern Beijing:

– Surviving Gates: Zhengyangmen and Deshengmen remain as traffic-choked relics of their strategic past.
– Dashilan: Now a tourist hotspot, its name preserves the memory of security gates.
– Urban Memory: Phrases like “Front Gate” and “Back Gate” (地安门) persist in local vernacular.

More profoundly, the failed segregation experiment foreshadowed China’s eventual move toward ethnic integration—a reminder that even the most rigid urban planning bends to human necessity. The Qing capital, in its walled perfection, was always more fluid than its blueprints suggested.