| The Archery Tower 箭楼 (Jiàn Lóu) was destroyed three times during the Qing Dynasty. In 1780 under Emperor Qianlong and in 1849, under Daoguang's rule, it was destroyed by fire and rebuilt. Then, again, in 1900 during the Boxer Rebellion it was destroyed (see below) during the attack by the Eight Allied Armies to reach the legations. It was rebuilt between 1901 and 1906. In 1915, the government hired German designer Wroth Koegel to modify the building. He added much of the white that you see in the pictures and further modifications were made to surrounding walls to ease traffic. The work was completed in 1916. During the early years of the new Republic of China, the commercial center of Qianmen thrived. |
