Exhibition Overview

Preface

In their production and living activities, Chinese ancestors continued to explore time and space, developing methods to determine seasons and identify directions by measuring the shadow of the sun and observing celestial objects. An aesthetic concept of admiring the central location was brought forward in this process and consequently extended its influence over various dimensions of society. It subsequently led to a view of value and order that "respects the central location" and "models heaven and earth". This philosophy regards the Polestar as the center of the heaven, the Central Plains as the center of the earth, and the Son of Heaven (the emperor) as the center of the human world. Centrality represents a tangible order while harmony conveys a value pursuit. Both centrality and harmony are regulated and attained through the practice of rites. This is also explained in the Analects of Confucius that reads, "In practicing the rules of propriety, it is harmony that is prized."

The idea of "respecting the central location" gave rise to a principle governing site selection, planning and construction of capitals in ancient China. According to the principle, the capital shall reside on the center of the country and the emperor the center of the capital. With the emperor’s palace complex as the central point, the capital builds on a central axis that extends from south to north and expands from east to west, presenting a highly symbolic order of architectural and cultural spaces.

In its planning, construction and improvement, Beijing Central Axis took inspirations from the ideal paradigm of capital design described by ancient Chinese that features a symmetrical layout, with the court in the front and the market at the back, the imperial ancestral temple on the left and the altar of land and grain on the right. It is a masterpiece exhibiting the ideal order of Chinese capital cities and a manifestation of creativity and craftsmanship of Chinese people in city planning and construction over a period from the 13th century until today.

Part I A Majestic Central Axis

Beijing Central Axis, running through the city’s core area, is a spatial ensemble comprising of building complexes, historical landmarks, historical streets and bridges, and archaeological remains. It was initially constructed in the 13th century, took shape in the 16th centuries, continued to improve in following centuries, and underwent a transformation process toward public access in the 20th century. Through a development process for more than 700 years, Beijing Central Axis has evolved into a historical building complex that contains ancient imperial buildings, city administrative facilities and central streets, and modern public buildings and spaces. The magnificent central axis extends from north to south to render a majestic spatial order that is unique to the city, governing the rise and fall of the city’s skyline, its symmetric layout, and its spatial arrangements.

Part II A Cultural Central Axis

Central axes of capital cities in ancient China underwent a long process of evolution. The capital’s central axis normally comprises of imperial palaces and gardens, ceremonial and sacrificial building complexes, city administrative facilities, and city spaces between them. It is the capital’s backbone that defines and governs urban layouts and designs, presenting a spatial order that follows the principle of "respecting the central location". The capital’s central axis is an outcome of capital city planning over a long process of evolution, taking inspirations from political, philosophical, aesthetic and living concepts that prevailed in traditional Chinese society. Beijing Central Axis is the best preserved one that survives to this day. It is hailed as an exemplar model of ideal capital planning in terms of its scale, layout and cultural conception.

Part III An Eternal Central Axis

The building ensemble of Beijing Central Axis bears witness to China’s transformation from a imperial state to a modern state. Today, it has been maintained and protected as a cultural heritage property. Its historical value continues to be explored. People’s knowledge about it continues to be deepened. And its renovation and conservation to adapt to public access continues to be strengthened.

In the 21st century, safeguarding the heritage of human civilization has become a conscious action of the people from all sectors of society. In this context, Beijing Central Axis is protected and preserved as an eternal and common legacy of China and the world as a whole.

Conclusion

Looking upward, we cast our eyes into the fascinating skyline, looking down, we paint the gorgeous landscape on the earth. The ideal capital order our ancestors had been trying to paint for the last few millennia is now embodied in the Central Axis.

Beijing has had a history of serving as the capital city for 870 years since the Prince of Hailing in the Jin Dynasty relocated the capital to Yanjing (Zhongdu City). Starting from the planning and construction of the Central Axis of the Capital Dadu of the Yuan Dynasty and with the ongoing inheritance and carrying forward of past achievements over the later dynasties, the Central Axis of Beijing has finally been made such a magnificent presence as it stands now, with originality and creativeness to be found everywhere along the Axis. With the national ceremonial culture at the core, the Central Axis of Beijing has stringed ritual spaces covering royal palaces and gardens, ritual and sacrificial sites and national celebration sites and diversified functional spaces such as urban administrative facilities and commercial streets, so that such functional spaces and the old city can be interdependent and support each other. Therefore, the Beijing Central Axis's application for being listed as a world heritage has constituted the critical enabler driving the conservation and revival of the old city. Since the critical enabler is held tight in hand, the purpose can be achieved.

In the new era, the Beijing Central Axis's application for being listed as a world heritage and conservation has become an important component for building the capital as the national cultural center. Yet a single wood can not make a towering building. We are please to see that under the guidance of the CPC and the Chinese government, more and more institutions and individuals are engaged in the conservation of the Central Axis and the win-win situation for cultural heritage conservation and cultural projects for benefiting the people is taking shape.