Qianmen Dajie 前门大街

Even in the 1930s, the supports for the Qianmen neighborhood gate reached the ground. Above, the gate is supported by two, not five pillars. Through the 1950s and 1960s the growth of automobile traffic caused many changes to the ancient face of Beijing. While other cities were able to live with their city walls and maintain them, Beijing has been wrenched into the modern era with a self-conscious need to present a picture divorced from the dynastic past.