Beijing North Central Axis. People’s Visual Information Map
On August 7th, 2022, the “Beijing Historical and Cultural City Protection Dialogue” was held. Li Qun, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Director of the National Cutural Heritage Administration, disclosed at the meeting that the Party Leadership Group of the National Cutural Heritage Administration recently studied and determined to recommend the “Beijing Central Axis” as China’s 2024 World Cultural Heritage application project. The Municipal Cultural Relics Bureau and the China Urban Planning and Design Research Institute have signed a contract to jointly build the Beijing Historical and Cultural Protection Inheritance and Urban Sustainable Development Research Center, to assist in the application of the Central Axis for World Heritage.
The theme of this dialogue is “Historical and Cultural Cities and World Heritage Protection”, and more than 20 domestic and foreign experts shared valuable experiences in the protection of historical cities and cultural heritage. This year coincides with the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention for the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage by UNESCO. China has established the system of historical and cultural cities, and Beijing has become one of the first national historical and cultural cities for 40 years. It is also a crucial year for Beijing’s application for cultural heritage along the central axis.
Li Qun has brought new progress in the application for World Heritage of the Central Axis: Recently, the Party Leadership Group of the National Cutural Heritage Administration has studied and determined to recommend the “Beijing Central Axis” as a world cultural heritage application project in 2024.
He expressed the hope that Beijing will deeply explore the multiple values of Beijing’s central axis in accordance with the “three benefits” requirements for declaring world cultural heritage, and showcase a comprehensive and authentic ancient and modern China to the world; Adhere to the principle of protection first, the old city cannot be demolished again, comprehensively protect cultural relics, texture patterns, and landscape features, and explore the systematic protection of historical and cultural heritage; Unify the renovation and upgrading of old urban areas with the protection of historical relics and preservation of historical context; Encourage social participation, activate historical scenes, improve support policies, truly revitalize cultural relics and heritage, and benefit the public with the results of cultural relic protection and utilization.
At the dialogue meeting, focusing on the theme of Beijing’s historical and cultural protection inheritance and urban sustainable development, the Municipal Cultural Relics Bureau and the China Academy of Urban Planning signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement. The two sides jointly established the “Beijing Historical and Cultural Protection Inheritance and Urban Sustainable Development Research Center”, combined with the advantages and characteristics of their respective fields, played the role of think tanks, deepened cutting-edge practices in Beijing, and jointly built a high-quality cooperation platform, Explore innovative paths for the integration of cultural heritage and urban development, and form diversified cooperation results in policy formulation, research projects, consulting services, and public activities in the future, further leveraging Beijing’s radiating and driving role as a national cultural center..The Institute of Planning and Research has launched the Beijing Central Axis 3D Realistic Surveying and Mapping Exhibition; Handmade sculptor Duan Yongcheng showcases his latest work – “Central Axis Architectural Sculpture”.
Zhejiang News+
What is special about Beijing’s central axis?
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Ming Beijing City
Throughout the capital cities of the Song and Jin dynasties, although the imperial and palace cities were placed in the central position, the ideal model of “left ancestor and right society, facing the rear market” was not fully implemented. It was the later Dadu City of the Yuan Dynasty that really implemented this model.
The Yuan Dynasty rose up on the grasslands, annihilating the Western Xia and Jin dynasties, and then commanded troops to cross the river, attack and annihilate the Southern Song Dynasty, unify the world, and establish the capital city (now Beijing). At this time, the capitals of various separatist regimes have been eliminated, forming a new capital pattern centered around the capitals, and the pattern of the capitals has also undergone new changes.
Liu Bingzhong, the designer of the Yuan Metropolitan City, combined the strengths of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, and planned the ideal model of the new capital city based on Confucian political theory. The first cultural element included in this model is the ideal model for establishing a capital in the book “Zhou Li Kao Gong Ji”, which is “Zuo Zu You She, facing the aftermarket”. Therefore, on both sides of the Imperial City of Dadu, there are temples and altars of the state. Before and after the imperial city, there were government offices in the Zhongshu Province (also known as the Shangshu Province) and many markets. The second cultural element included in this model is the earlier concept of “respecting the north” as the capital, which relocated the drum tower and bell tower from both sides of the central axis to the northernmost point of the central axis.
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Yuan Dadu
In the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Chengzu Zhu Di moved the capital from Nanjing to Beijing. At this time, although Beijing continued to use the central axis of the capital of the Yuan Dynasty, it underwent significant changes. Firstly, the Forbidden City was built on the east bank of Taihe Lake, so that the entire palace city was located on the central axis. Secondly, the West Garden was built on the west bank of Taihe Lake as a royal garden. After such transformation, the imperial city of Ming Beijing was divided into two major functional areas, namely the palace area and the garden area. Thirdly, the Imperial Temple and the Altar of State, which were originally placed on the east and west sides outside the imperial city, were relocated to the east and west sides of the central axis inside the imperial city in front of the palace. After this change, Zhu Di, the founder of Ming Dynasty, completely eliminated the elements of nomadic culture.