Jiandemen Subway Station

The station shares the same name with the northwest gate of the Capital in Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), which used to be a must place to go through when the Yuan troops set out to the North. When the anti-Yuan Captain Xu Da (1332-1385) captured the city in 1368, the old Yuan Dynasty’s capital’s northern rampart was relocated south 2.5 kilometers away. As a result the Jiandemen at the old city rampart disappeared with the old wall, leaving only the title.

Beitucheng Subway Station

The name came from the site of the north rampart in the period of the Yuan Dynasty. 24 meters wide at the bottom, 8 meters on the top, with a height of 16 meters, the wall is just like an earth platform. So it is called tucheng, meaning city made out of earth. Like Jiandemen, the earth platform fell behind the time and disappeared too when the Ming Dynasty（1368-1644）came to power and rearranged the rampart. Beitucheng Subway Station is the originating station of subway line 8, the special Olympic line.

Shaoyaoju Subway Station

Shaoyaoju means Chinese Peony Palace. The sub district nearby is called Shaoyaoju Subdistrict. It used to be an anonymous village with no more than thirty households. It is said that every family here grew Chinese Peonies, which is special for imperial use. The emperor even titled the village shaoyaoju, meaning Chinese Peony palace and the name has passed down from generation to generation.

Taiyanggong Subway Station

Taiyanggong is Sun Palace in English. The station is named after a temple nearby. It is said that when Emperor Qianlong toured passed here, the sun was rising in the east. The village here was showered in a mild light. Amused by the view, Qianlong named the place taiyanggong, which means sun palace in English. The villagers felt grateful to the emperor and built a temple with the same name to show their respect to the emperor.

Liangmaqiao Subway Station

The title which means bright horses bridge originated from the Liangma Bridge outside Dongzhi Gate. It is said that in the early years groups of ancient businessmen often washed their horses in the stream under the bridge before they went into the city, then tied them to the willows along the river to have them dried. That’s why the river is called Drying horses River: Liangmahe. With time passing by, the pronunciation remains, but the meaning has changed into Bright Horses River. In the Qing Dynasty, a white marble bridge was built over the river and shared its name.