On January 26, the second season of "Ten Thousand Miles of Single Riding - China in the Heritage" was successfully completed, and in the last two programs, Shan Jixiang, president of the Chinese Cultural Relics Society and director of the Academic Committee of the Palace Museum, and actors Zhou Yun, Xiao Yang, Niu Junfeng, and singer Wang Junkai walked into Beijing to visit the central axis of Beijing.
The Forbidden City, where the snow is first clear, is located in the core of Beijing's central axis. Figure/IC photo
"We shot in two groups, one group went north from the Yongding Gate in the south, and the other group went south from the Bell and Drum Tower, and finally gathered in Tiananmen Square. This morning, when we finished filming our program, we waited for the flag raising in Tiananmen Square and watched the exciting flag-raising ceremony with people from all over the country. Shan Jixiang told the Beijing News reporter that after the broadcast of the "Ten Thousand Miles To Ride Alone" program, it was welcomed by many young people.
He said that the protection of cultural relics and cultural dissemination are also adapting to the changes and needs of young people to receive information, such as the launch of "I repair cultural relics in the Forbidden City", "the new Forbidden City", "National Treasures" and other programs, is to hope to use young people's favorite way to tell cultural relics, heritage stories.
The program "Ten Thousand Miles of Single Riding - China in Heritage" is China's first World Heritage visit and experiential cultural program initiated by the China Cultural Relics Society.
With the completion of the "Beijing Central Axis Special Edition", the location recording of the second season of "Ten Thousand Miles Of Single Riding" has been basically completed, and it will gradually enter the tense post-production stage.
The second season of "Ten Thousand Miles of Solo Riding" traveled through seven provinces of Henan, Jiangxi, Chongqing, Beijing, Fujian, Sichuan and Jiangsu, recording 12 heritage sites such as Yin ruins, Silk Road, Jingdezhen, Dazu Rock Carvings, Zhoukoudian, Wuyishan, Quanzhou, Ancient Shu Civilization, Lushan Mountain, Grand Canal, Beijing Central Axis, ming and Qing Forbidden City, including the projects that became World Heritage Sites in China in 1987, the projects that were newly entered the World Heritage List in 2021, and the "World Heritage Preliminary List" Projects that are striving to become World Heritage Sites.
In addition to focusing on paleoanthropological sites, archaeological remains, stone statues, and ancient architecture, the program also involves a series of heritages and linear heritage, including cultural heritage, cultural and natural composite heritage, and cultural landscape heritage. Shan Jixiang led the "Wanli Youth League" to visit the heritage elements of various heritage sites, communicate with researchers and conservators of heritage sites, experience oracle bone matching, three-dimensional scanning, porcelain making, statue carving, archaeological excavation, intangible cultural heritage production and other projects, and pay tribute to the human thought and spirit carried by the world heritage through various activities such as drone shooting, forest concerts, and large dominoes.
Dialogue with Shan Jixiang: The central axis of Beijing is a living heritage
The Beijing News reporter talked with Shan Jixiang, president of the Chinese Cultural Relics Society and director of the academic committee of the Palace Museum. Courtesy of respondents
Beijing News: "Beijing Central Axis" is still in the process of applying for heritage, why did the "Beijing Central Axis" program choose "Beijing Central Axis" as the closing filming location?
Shan Jixiang: Our second season of the show traveled to seven provinces, spanning a large area. The last two issues came to Beijing. The central axis of Beijing is now in full swing to be declared a World Heritage Site, and the entire central axis of Beijing is 7.8 kilometers long, making it the longest and most informative central axis in the world. So we divided it into two episodes to shoot, which also helped the central axis of Beijing to declare it a World Heritage Site. According to the custom, we shoot in groups, one group goes north from the Yongding Gate in the south, the other group goes south from the Bell and Drum Tower, and finally gathers in Tiananmen Square. At 6 o'clock this morning, we watched the exciting flag-raising ceremony in Tiananmen Square with people from all over the country, and then went to the Monument to the People's Heroes as the final place for filming this season.
The view of the central axis of Beijing from the drum tower is spectacular. Figure/IC photo
Beijing News: What important value does the "Central Axis of Beijing" have to tell the audience? As the president of Dongcheng Cultural Development Research Institute, what are your ideas on the "Central Axis of Beijing" cultural value excavation and regional cultural heritage protection?
Shan Jixiang: The central axis of Beijing is a process of continuous development and enrichment. From the location of the original capital of the Yuan Dynasty, the location of the central axis of Beijing was determined. This is also an ancient axis. In the 48th year of the Kangxi Dynasty, that is, in 1709, the Qing government determined that this axis was the axis of the junior high school with zero longitude. The concept of the primer axis, which was worldwide at the time, was a very advanced concept, 175 years before greenwich, England, established the prime meridian.
The central axis of Beijing is the core of old Beijing, showing the urban planning of the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties as well as the People's Republic of China. Its location and design reflect the "center as respect" in traditional Chinese culture - the imperial city lives in the world, the palace lives in the imperial city, the palace lives in the palace, and the central axis of the palace is a clear north-south axis, including after the founding of New China, our Tiananmen Square, the Monument to the People's Heroes, the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall, including the national flag we go to see today, this "central axis" concept we have been strengthening and adhering to. Such an orderly and harmonious development has brought about the word "he", such as the Taihe Hall, the Zhonghe Hall, and the Bohe Hall of the Forbidden City, which further highlights the concept of our heaven and earth, the unity of heaven and man, and a harmonious world. The concept of harmonious society that we advocate today is actually the philosophical concept of building a beautiful country and a beautiful world in China since ancient times, and it is also guiding our urban life and urban construction today.
The central axis is not a solidified thing, but an open system, which is constantly changing. With the construction of our cities and the improvement of people's lives, the central axis has also received due attention, making it still magnificent even today. Therefore, we must tell the world about the ideas and layouts embodied in China's excellent traditional culture on the central axis, as well as the charm of the central axis that people living on the central axis today can still feel.
In our program, everyone walks on the central axis, and you can see different areas and different landscapes on the central axis. From the ecological landscape of Yongding gate to the overpass, the economic landscape of the overpass to the front gate, the political landscape of zhengyang gate to the noon gate of the Forbidden City, the cultural landscape of the forbidden city from the noon gate to the back gate of Jingshan, and the social landscape of Jingshan to the drum tower, come to experience the "five-in-one" urban cultural style of the central axis.
On January 26, in Beijing, citizens wielded a "fitness dragon" on the Bell and Drum Tower Square to exercise. Figure/IC photo
Beijing News: What do you think are the characteristics of Beijing's central axis compared with other cities in the world? In the process of applying for heritage on the central axis, what are the unique characteristics of Dongcheng District's cultural heritage?
Shan Jixiang: Many cities in the world have axes, including ancient and modern ones, such as Paris, France, which has many axes, the axis centered on the square, the axis centered on the Arc de Triomphe, and the axis centered on the church; Brasilia, Canberra and other cities also have axes. Relatively speaking, the central axis of Beijing is the longest axis in the world, it is not a line, nor is it a street, but an axis with rich content composed of architectural complexes, city squares, and urban space content. Today, there are also quite large areas of protected areas and construction control zones on both sides of the central axis, and the protection of this central axis still dominates the construction of Beijing's urban skyline and urban landscape today, which is unique among the world's cities.
The outline of the projects declared as World Heritage sites on the central axis has been clear, and there are now a total of 19 declarations, the vast majority of which are within the scope of Dongcheng District, including Yongdingmen, Bell and Drum Towers, and the Forbidden City complex, so the task of central axis protection and cultural inheritance undertaken by Dongcheng District is also quite heavy.
Beijing News: We know that the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven and the Grand Canal are already World Heritage Sites, so why should we apply for heritage on the central axis project in Beijing?
Shan Jixiang: In 1987, the Forbidden City became the first batch of world cultural heritage in China, by the end of the last century, the Temple of Heaven had also become a world cultural heritage, and in 2014, the Grand Canal became a world cultural heritage. One axis is in the heart of the city, and there are three World Heritage Sites, which are also unique in the world. But at the same time, they are an inseparable part of the central axis, especially the Forbidden City occupies a long area of the central axis. Moreover, these cultural heritages are inherently of different types and represent different heritage values. Both the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven belong to the ancient architectural complex, and the Grand Canal and central axis belong to the linear heritage. The central axis is not only a material and cultural relic of the past, but also a vivid embodiment and continuous continuation of the traditional Chinese concept of capital planning, which has affected the construction and development of today's cities. In the words of the heritage preservation community, this is a living heritage.
Beijing News: In recent years, we have also seen cultural programs "out of the circle", in terms of the dissemination and inheritance of World Heritage, how to make young people accept and love cultural programs?
Qianmen Avenue, on the central axis of Beijing, is illuminated at night. Figure/IC photo
Shan Jixiang: Young people are changing rapidly now, and it is no longer the concept of a generation in the past two decades, but a generation in a few years. Especially in recent years, when we are doing cultural communication, we feel that the needs of young people in receiving information have changed a lot. One is that their tools for receiving information are changing, and the other is that fragmented time is fully utilized, whether on the subway or before going to bed, they can use mobile phones to receive information, because our cultural dissemination is to adapt to this change and demand. Therefore, the Forbidden City also tries to promote and apply digital technology, Internet technology, etc., such as "I repair cultural relics in the Forbidden City", "National Treasures" program, and "On the New Forbidden City", etc. In the production process, we also repeatedly listen to the feedback of young people, so that the program constantly adapts to the knowledge needs of young people, and adjusts and improves, and the result has won a good rating. In particular, "I Repair Cultural Relics in the Forbidden City", which is a very slow-paced program, has attracted many young fans and influenced the employment choices of many people. So this also strengthens our determination to try and explore, what kind of programs can make our traditional culture and young people closer, so that they can understand and feel. "Ten Thousand Miles Walking Single Ride" program, but also want to from a wider area, the most essential part of China's cultural heritage, in the rhythm of one episode per week, in the process of filming, our team called "Wanli Youth League", including 70s, 80s, 90s and other participants of different ages, we hope to use their personal participation, experience and feelings to attract more peers and them dialogue, and cultural heritage dialogue.
These explorations also include the launch of some cultural and creative products, such as the Forbidden City in the process of launching cultural and creative products, and constantly get positive feedback from society, so that cultural and creative products can enter thousands of households and enter the lives of young people. These are our attempts to constantly reach out to young people, to explore which aspects of traditional culture they pay more attention to, and then we carry out some targeted creative practices. It should be said that we are still working hard, and that there is still a long way to go and never end.
Beijing News reporter Chen Lin
Edited by Chen Jing, proofread by Wu Xingfa