Di'anmen was built in 1420 during the eighteenth year of the Ming Dynasty, it was originally known as Bei'anmen (北安门).

[1][2] During the Republic of China in 1913 and 1923, in order to facilitate transportation, the imperial walls on the east and west side of Di'anmen were demolished.

[3] During the early years of the People's Republic of China (from the end of 1954 to February 1955), in order to improve road traffic, both the Di'anmen Gate and the Yanchi Tower were demolished.

However this was plan was stopped after a fire in the Temple of Heaven had burnt down the wooden components of the Di'anmen and Yanchi Tower.

[1][2] In 2004, Wang Canchi, a member of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Chinese formally submitted a proposal to the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference regarding the restoration of Di'anmen.

In 1924, some eunuchs temporarily lived in the Yanchi Tower when Emperor Puyi was expelled from the Forbidden City.

However due to the impact of the demolition of Di'anmen gate and the construction and expansion of the roads, the New Yanchi tower could not be in the same architectural style as the original, with only 4 rooms from south to north of the east wing and 10 on the west wing could be restored.