At the southern end of the square stands the Front Gate. It is one of the few remaining gates of the city wall. It was built in 1420 in the early Ming Dynasty and renovated in 1977. In the old days the wall was guarded by watchtowers placed at regular intervals around the perimeter. The double gate system played an important role in repulsing enemy attacks. If the first gate was breached, the enemy would still find themselves outside the city wall and would be fired upon from the tower over the inner gate.
