Beijing prepares 14 heritage sites

Aims to include Central Axis in UNESCO list by 2035

Beijing is preparing 14 heritage sites along the city’s Central Axis, including Tiananmen Square and Chairman Mao Memorial Hall, in a bid to apply for UNESCO World Cultural Heritage by 2035.

The goal is to have the Central Axis match the application criteria of the UNESCO World Heritage by 2030, and make it to the World Heritage List by 2035, said Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage director Shu Xiaofeng, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Wednesday.

The 14 heritage sites are Yongdingmen, the Temple of Agriculture (Xiannongtan), the Temple of Heaven, Zhengyangmen and its archery tower, Chairman Mao Memorial Hall, the Monument to the People’s Heroes, Tiananmen Square, Tiananmen Rsotrum, Shejitan, the Imperial Ancestral Temple (Taimiao), the Forbidden City, Jingshan, Wanning Bridge, and Drum and Bell Towers.

“The Central Axis is the city planning’s core concept. It is a significant achievement in global city planning,” Li Mingde, former vice president of the Beijing Tourism Society, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

“The combined heritage sites are the biggest relics in Beijing, and that is why we are preparing to apply them for the World Heritage List,” Li said, adding that the application will strengthen China’s cultural confidence and show Chinese contributions to civilization.

The Central Axis runs through China’s capital city and covers 65 percent of the old city area. Aside from the designated heritage areas, the Central Axis also includes imperial buildings, quadrangle courtyard houses and modern constructions in the buffer areas, the administration said.

The cultural relics in the heritage areas will be renovated and better presented.

“There is still much room for improvement for the Central Axis to meet the standards of the UNESCO World Heritage. For example, we are not highlighting its importance deep enough,” Shu said, adding that the administration is inviting international experts in the second half of the year to help explain the importance of the Central Axis.

The back streets and alleyways in the buffer areas will undergo renovation to improve their image. The administration will also control buildings in the buffer areas in terms of volume and color to conform to the heritage sites, the Beijing Daily reported.

When necessary, residents in heritage areas will be relocated to return the heritage sites to their original state. The residents’ quality of life will be ensured and improved by the relocation through compensation fees, housing distribution and infrastructure improvements, according to Shu.

“The goal of the relocation is not to ask all residents to leave but to retain the old Beijing as much as possible,” he said.

Restoring and protecting those heritage sites that have lost their original condition requires society’s participation and cooperation, Li stressed.