In 1389, twenty-eight years before the foundations of Beijing’s Tiananmen were laid, builders in Yunnan completed the Yinghui Gate. Today, we know it as the Chaoyang Tower. It rose during the Ming Dynasty's Hongwu reign, transforming a Tang Dynasty mud settlement called Huili into a brick-walled stronghold.

The tower survived centuries of upheaval through its engineering. In 1647, the rebel leader Li Dingguo captured the city. His forces burned the south, west, and north gates, leaving only this eastern gatehouse standing. Its survival rests on a flexible timber skeleton. Forty-eight massive wooden pillars, smelling of aged pine, support the three-story structure. The heaviest central columns run straight to the roof, absorbing the shock of regional earthquakes. This wooden frame rests on an eight-meter-tall base of cool, hand-hewn brick and stone.

Sensory details define the tower's physical presence. High under the eaves, thousands of migrating rain swallows nest each spring, filling the air with their sharp, nesting cries. On the eastern facade, the calligrapher Tu Rizhuo left his mark in characters nearly two meters tall, reading "Grandly Guarding the Southeast." On the western side, wild cursive strokes replicate the brushwork of the Tang Dynasty master Zhang Xu. Inside, suspended from a main timber beam, hangs a two-ton bronze bell cast in the early Ming era. When struck, its deep, metallic resonance travels for miles across the rooftops.

Upstairs, the tower preserves a visual record of its past. Visitors can view black-and-white photographs taken between 1896 and 1904 by Auguste François, the French consul-general. These images capture a vanished era of Qing Dynasty life. Below, on the stone-paved public square, contemporary life continues. Local residents gather daily to hang birdcages in the trees, play chess, and perform traditional street music. The ancient gate remains a functional center of the community, bridging the gap between historical preservation and daily life.