Jingshan Park: Viewing the Central Axis from the Forbidden City
2024-08-09
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Reporter Dai Lili
"I was very excited to see the news that the Central Axis was successfully listed as a World Heritage Site. I brought my child to the Central Axis to take a look and tell him the story of the Central Axis." A tourist brought his 6-year-old son to stand at Wanchun Pavilion, the highest point in Jingshan Park, to feel the charm of Beijing's Central Axis and the unique magnificent order of Beijing.
In the week after the announcement of the successful application of the Central Axis for World Heritage status, the number of visitors to Jingshan Park increased by 19% compared with the previous week. People experienced the historical changes and cultural connotations of Beijing's Central Axis while visiting the park.
As three of the 15 heritage elements of Beijing's central axis, the Temple of Heaven, Jingshan Mountain and Sheji Altar are all municipal parks in Beijing. Since 2018, with the support and efforts of all parties, through the overall protection of cultural relics such as evacuation and repair, the municipal parks located on the central axis have expanded the open area of cultural relics protection areas by nearly 92,000 square meters. The Municipal Park Management Center has continuously increased the revitalization and utilization of cultural relics and ancient buildings, promoted the creative transformation and innovative development of China's excellent traditional culture in municipal parks, and further polished Beijing's historical and cultural "golden business card".
Shouhuangdian complex is fully open to the public
"It turns out that this is what the entire picture of Beijing's Central Axis looks like. The pictures I've seen before were all flat, but here you can see every building on the Central Axis in three dimensions." In the Shouhuang Hall of Jingshan Park, tourists gathered around the sand table of Beijing's Central Axis, their eyes moving slowly along the Central Axis, as if they could hear the echoes of history.
This sand table of Beijing's Central Axis is located in the Shenchu Exhibition Hall of Shouhuang Temple. The sand table almost completely displays all the scenic spots on Beijing's Central Axis, allowing visitors to understand the charm of Beijing's Central Axis more intuitively.
In 2013, as the Beijing Children's Palace moved out of the Shouhuangdian ancient building area, the Shouhuangdian complex officially returned to Jingshan Park. After four years of planning, renovation and exhibition, the main building of the Shouhuangdian complex in Jingshan Park was officially opened to the public. The Shouhuangdian complex is also the largest group of ancient buildings vacated during the protection of the cultural relics in the Beijing Central Axis World Heritage Site. Its return has realized the overall appearance of the cultural relics and ancient buildings in Jingshan Park.
In 2018, the park vacated about 23,500 square meters of the northwest area and opened it to the public after renovation. In 2020, the Guande Hall was also vacated and renovated and opened to the public, increasing the open area by about 5,857 square meters. By 2023, the West District Science Park and Science Cabin will be fully open. So far, the area of the park's open area has expanded to 91.7% of the park. The historical features of the central axis have been further restored.
"After the ancient building was vacated, we worked hard to revitalize it at a high level." Wang Bing, deputy director of Jingshan Park, introduced that in order to raise public awareness of the protection of the cultural heritage of the central axis, Jingshan Park held the "Shouhuang Palace History and Culture Exhibition" in the Shouhuang Palace. After the vacated and renovated Guande Hall, it has now been transformed into a temporary exhibition hall, where exhibitions of various themes are held from time to time. "New Glory of the National Essence·Top of the Forbidden City-Exhibition of Cloisonné Enamel Paintings" and ""Spring in the Forbidden City" Chinese Painting Exhibition"... A series of "Top of the Forbidden City" series of exhibitions allow visitors to experience the cultural heritage of ancient royal gardens.
The central axis has become a golden signboard when you climb high
Wanchun Pavilion is located at the highest point of Jingshan Mountain and is known as the commanding height on the central axis of Beijing and the first place to view the scenic spots in Beijing. Standing on the top of the Forbidden City, looking south to the central axis, visitors can overlook the entire Forbidden City, with magnificent palaces and buildings in full view; looking north, the Bell and Drum Tower at the northern end of the central axis of Beijing comes into view.
Climbing up the Wanchun Pavilion, tourists are pleasantly surprised to find that there is a huge copper plate embedded in the ground on the north and south sides of the Pavilion. The one on the south is engraved with the six words "Center Point of Beijing City", and the one on the north is engraved with "North-South Central Axis of Beijing City".
"The platforms on the north and south sides of Wanchun Pavilion are the best places to view the north-south central axis. In order to strengthen the dissemination of the ancient capital culture and the central axis culture, Jingshan Park has previously set up these two bronze landmarks. These two landmarks not only interpret Jingshan's unique geographical location, but also add color to the Beijing Central Axis World Heritage Application." Wang Bing introduced.
Looking at the Central Axis from the top of the Forbidden City has become a golden signboard for Jingshan to attract tourists to check in.
During the 2023 Spring Festival, Jingshan held a series of activities called "Climb the Central Axis to Pray for Blessings and Spend the New Year on the Forbidden City"; during the 2024 Spring Festival, it once again offered tourists a festive feast of "Enjoy the Central Axis Jingshan", which became an important part of the "Celebrate the New Year on the Central Axis" event. A series of colorful cultural and tourism activities allow the public to personally experience the splendor and cultural history of the central axis of Beijing, greatly enhancing the public's awareness of and protection of the cultural heritage of the central axis.
"As an important heritage component of Beijing's Central Axis, Jingshan Park will take the successful application for World Heritage status as an opportunity to utilize the park's rich historical and cultural resources, deeply explore the cultural connotations of the Central Axis, and build the Central Axis brand. By hosting a series of cultural and tourism activities, tourists can appreciate the natural beauty while deeply feeling the charm and cultural value of the Central Axis." Wang Bing said.
Bringing cultural heritage home
After visiting Jingshan, tourists still feel unsatisfied. Jingshan Park continues to launch cultural and creative products with the central axis as the theme, combining cultural heritage protection with modern innovation, deeply exploring the multiple values of cultural heritage, and allowing tourists to take "cultural heritage" home.
"In July, the customer flow of our cultural and creative stores increased by about 38.82%, and the output value of cultural and creative products increased by 46.8% compared with the previous month," said Wang Bing.
"The central axis is curling, and the lineage is passed down." When you open the exquisite incense box, you will see a bunch of exquisite incense sticks wrapped in a hollow shape. From top to bottom, they are the silhouettes of Yongdingmen, Zhengyangmen, Tiananmen, Wumen Gate of the Forbidden City, Wanchun Pavilion of Jingshan, Di'anmen and Bell and Drum Tower on the central axis of Beijing. When you light a stick of incense, the smoke floats out from the hollow along the silhouettes of the landmark buildings on the central axis, just like auspicious clouds floating over Beijing, symbolizing the continuation of history from ancient times to the present.
There are also various kinds of seal books, incense, stationery... Many cultural and creative products in Jingshan incorporate elements of the central axis in their design. They have both practical and cultural value, creating a unique consumption scene and allowing cultural heritage to be perfectly integrated into modern life.
(Source: Beijing Daily)
