Andingmen

This guide to Andingmen in Xi'an starts before dawn, with a knot of retirees gathering at the foot of the gate with an erhu and wooden clappers to sing Qinqiang opera, a style they insist stretches back to the Qin dynasty. It follows that disputed claim alongside the gate's own layered past: a Tang-dynasty crossing called Shunyi Gate, rebuilt and shifted south by the Ming between 1374 and 1378, then renamed Andingmen for peace on the frontier. You'll hear why its own gate tower once doubled as a general's command post overlooking the northwest border. Arrive early if you want to catch the singers before the crowds do.