At the 46th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Conference held in New Delhi, the capital of India, China's Badain Jaran Desert - Shashan Lake Group, Yellow (Bohai) Sea Migratory Bird Habitat (Phase II), "Beijing Central Axis - A Masterpiece of China's Ideal Capital City Order", was successfully inscribed on the World Heritage List. This brings the total number of World Heritage sites in China to 59. Especially yesterday (July 27), the Beijing Central Axis was successfully inscribed on the World Heritage List, and many friends who know the city of Beijing may ask, there are already World Heritage Sites such as the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven on the Beijing Central Axis, why does the Central Axis itself still have to be inscribed on the World Heritage List? What is the historical and cultural value of this central axis that runs through ancient and modern times?
In Beijing, located in the center of the old city, there is a central axis running through the north and south of the old city, it starts from the bell tower and drum tower in the north, passes through Wanning Bridge, Jingshan, Forbidden City, Duanmen, Tiananmen Square, Waijinshui Bridge, Tiananmen Square and building complex, Zhengyangmen, the remains of the southern section of the central axis, and reaches Yongding Gate, the Taimiao Temple and Shejitan, the Temple of Heaven and the Xiannongtan are symmetrically laid out on both sides, with a total length of about 7.8 kilometers and 15 heritage points. Along this central axis, an orderly and imposing urban complex is formed. This central axis of Beijing has been called "a masterpiece of China's ideal capital city order".
Lu Zhou, Director of the National Heritage Center of Tsinghua University: There is the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven, they are all World Heritage Sites, they all have their own value, and together they tell why the Chinese want to establish such an order, how we build a city, and what kind of changes our concepts have in the process of urban development.
Deng Chao, Director of the Department of Cultural Relics and Monuments of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage: It talks about how Chinese have planned their own cities and their own capitals since ancient times, and what kind of concepts craftsmen use to do this, and it talks about the relationship between the city and nature, the relationship between people and the city, the relationship between ceremonial order and urban architecture. It is based on the concept of etiquette, choosing the middle, respecting the middle, talking about the function of the left and right, and forming a neutral system.
The UNESCO World Heritage Committee believes that the "Beijing Central Axis" represents a unique type in the history of world cities, which embodies the traditional Chinese capital planning theory and the philosophical idea of "neutrality", and has made important contributions to the history of urban planning in the world. Beijing's central axis spans the long river of history, was built in the Yuan Dynasty, and was perfected in the Ming, Qing, modern and modern times. A central axis, a historical picture of the inheritance and continuation of Chinese civilization. However, before the inscription of the Central Axis of Beijing was carried out, many historical heritages were submerged in the long river of history. With the launch of the inscription in 2012, the cultural heritage of Beijing's central axis has gradually been fully and clearly revealed.
Chu Jianhao, member of the party group, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Relics, and full-time deputy director of the World Heritage Application Office: Since 2014, when General Secretary Xi Jinping visited Beijing, he has repeatedly gone deep into the historical streets and alleys and hutong courtyards, and proposed that urban development should attach great importance to the protection of historical and cultural heritage, not only to improve the living environment, but also to protect the historical heritage, so that history and culture and modern life can be integrated.
The central axis of Beijing is not simply a line, but an urban building complex composed of ancient royal palace buildings, ancient royal sacrificial buildings, ancient city management facilities, national ceremonial and public buildings, and the remains of the central road. After the fall of the Qing Dynasty, these buildings began to integrate into the lives of the people, and some of them have become places where people work and live today, and have suffered some damage to varying degrees.
Beijing Xiannong Altar is opposite to the Temple of Heaven across the central axis on the central axis, and it is an important place for ancient emperors to carry out the sacrificial rites of Xiannong, among which Qingcheng Palace is an important part of Xiannong Altar. Qingcheng Palace was not originally a place for people to live and live, but due to historical reasons, there were many self-built houses, different units, different property rights attributes, many real estate information is missing, the area of the house is difficult to confirm, and the complexity and difficulty of vacating are very large.
Wang Yong, Level 4 Researcher of the Housing and Urban Construction Committee of Xicheng District, Beijing: In fact, in our work, improving the quality of life of residents and eliminating potential residential safety hazards are the top priorities of our attention. At the same time, our district has also configured a number of high-quality directional resettlement houses such as Baiziwan, Meilan Bay, and Huilongguan for this project, providing residents with more choices from house type to living room equipment.
It is necessary not only to protect the cultural heritage, but also to effectively solve the practical difficulties of the masses, and the vacant work has won the recognition and support of the masses on the spot, and the vacant task of Qingcheng Palace has been completed in just over 30 days. And Qingcheng Palace is just a courtyard in the Xiannongtan building complex.
Xue Jian, Director of Beijing Museum of Ancient Architecture: Beijing Xiannongtan is one of the 15 heritage elements of Beijing's central axis.
The one-acre three-point land cultivated by the ancient emperors, the viewing platform, and the sacred warehouse used for memorial after the grain harvest, these heritage buildings that were occupied by the unit school in the past have been vacated and restored one after another. As an important carrier of traditional Chinese farming culture, Xiannongtan gradually presents its functions, style and heritage value completely and clearly, telling a unique story of Chinese farming civilization, which is the protection of cultural heritage and the inheritance of Chinese civilization. The inscription of Beijing's central axis on the World Heritage List has also led to the overall protection of the old city of Beijing.
The central axis of Beijing provokes the backbone of Beijing, and between the fireworks in the market, it also connects the lives of the people in the old city. Many residents around the central axis live in old courtyards, with limited living conditions and a messy living environment. Through comprehensive renovation, the environment of more than 3,000 back streets and alleys within the heritage area and buffer zone of Beijing's central axis has been refined.
Historically, almost all of the royal forbidden gardens are arranged on the central axis of Beijing, and the access control is heavy, and now, the streets and alleys of the city extend in all directions, and the Forbidden City welcomes visitors from all over the world with an open attitude, and the ceremonial altars on both sides of the central axis have become museums, citizen parks, and leisure squares, where citizens and tourists wander. Beijing's central axis has become a public space and historical memory built and shared by the whole people.
Wang Shuaiqi, a staff member of the Business Department of the Bell and Drum Tower Cultural Relics Depository of the Culture and Tourism Bureau of Dongcheng District, Beijing: Since the first floor of the Drum Tower launched the theme exhibition of the story of time, which has been welcomed by everyone, more young parents and teenagers, including college students, have come to the first floor of the Drum Tower to watch the digital exhibition and feel the wisdom of the ancestors through time.
The Bell Tower and Drum Tower are the most beautiful "time buildings" on the central axis of Beijing, where visitors can feel the long and long evening drum and morning bell. In Jingshan Wanchun Pavilion, people can overlook the magnificence of the Forbidden City, and the north-south central axis can be seen at a glance. In Tiananmen Square, major national celebrations attracted worldwide attention. In the Taimiao Temple, Sheji Altar, Temple of Heaven and Xiannong Altar, people can learn about the ancient Chinese rituals of worshiping heaven and ancestors, and understand the Chinese civilization of Chinese worshipping the heavens, the earth, the ancestors, the saints, and reverence for nature. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, a series of planning blueprints have drawn a new urban landscape belt in Beijing around the central axis.
Lu Zhou, Director of the National Heritage Center of Tsinghua University: The long-term continuation of Chinese civilization has always influenced us, including the ideas of urban design and urban planning in the 20th century, which is reflected in the design of the Tiananmen Square complex, the Monument to the People's Heroes, the Memorial Hall of Chairman Mao, and today the National Museum of China and the Great Hall of the People.
At the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, 29 huge "footprints" started from Yongding Gate and walked along the ancient central axis of Beijing to the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube.
Lv Zhou, Director of the National Heritage Center of Tsinghua University: The Bird's Nest and the Water Cube correspond to the circle of the Temple of Heaven and the square of the Xiannong Altar, which is a cultural gene that has been deeply rooted in our blood.
Since the inscription of the Beijing Central Axis on the World Heritage List, the term "Central Axis" has become more and more familiar to people. More and more people are re-understanding the city of Beijing through the Central Axis and participating in the heritage protection and inheritance of the Central Axis of Beijing.
There are 160 boundary pillars around the heritage area and buffer zone of Beijing's central axis, and citizens and tourists can scan the QR code on it to enter the mini program to enjoy the magnificent scenery of the central axis, learn about the cultural history of the central axis, and upload pictures through the "digital watchman" to do their part for heritage protection.
Today, Beijing's central axis has been successfully inscribed on the World Heritage List, but the protection of heritage and environmental governance is still a long-term task, which requires the active participation of the public and the coordination of the strength of the whole society.
Jin Xibin, Director of Beijing Central Axis Heritage Protection Center: The Beijing Central Axis spans 7.8 kilometers from north to south, involving 15 heritage elements, involving Dongcheng District, Xicheng District, as well as the central unit and Beijing Municipal units, district and county units, and the protection and management institutions are relatively complex.
Today's central axis of Beijing, as a world heritage site, has been completely and clearly displayed in front of the world. The central axis of Beijing, which once witnessed history, is radiating new vitality, showing the charm of the ancient capital to the world and telling the story of the ancient civilization.
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out during his inspection in Beijing: "Beijing is a world-famous ancient capital, rich historical and cultural heritage is a golden business card, inheritance and protection of this precious historical and cultural heritage is the responsibility of the capital, in the spirit of being responsible for history and the people, inheriting the historical context, handling the relationship between urban transformation and development and the protection and utilization of historical and cultural heritage, and effectively achieving development in protection and protection in development." "In the process of applying for the World Heritage Site, the Beijing Central Axis has implemented the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important instructions on the protection of world cultural heritage, and has well balanced the relationship between protection and development. Its successful application for the World Heritage List has contributed to the world a Chinese case of ancient capital protection and sustainable development, and also proved the strong vitality and global influence of China's excellent traditional culture.
Source: CCTV news client