Zhengyangmen, traditionally called the Front Gate, is located to the south of Tian'anmen Square. It was the south-facing gate of the Ming and Qing dynasties city walls. Zhengyangmen was built in 1419. Only imperial sedans and carriages were allowed to use the gate. The gate is a fortress-like structure built for the city's defense. Originally it included a gate tower, the watchtower and Wengcheng (enclosure for defense outside a city gate). Only the gate tower and the watchtower remain. The  reflects traditional Chinese architectural style and represents the creativity of the Chinese working people and is of great importance for science, art, and historical relic studies. The gate tower and watchtower are opened to the public throughout the year. The watchtower is a four-storey exhibition hall of 800 square meters and the gate tower is a two-storey exhibition hall of 800 square meters. Both of them provide exhibitions of calligraphy and paintings throughout the year and sell souvenirs.