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Beijing's history and culture are great witnesses to the long history of Chinese civilization. When General Secretary Xi Jinping visited Beijing in February 2017, he emphasized, "We must protect it more carefully, highlight the overall value of Beijing's history and culture, and strengthen the city's characteristics of 'capital style, ancient capital charm, and contemporary style.'" Beijing's Central Axis is undoubtedly the core of Beijing's traditional pattern and characteristics.

The protection and continuation of Beijing's capital characteristics require strict planning and management. In fact, the traditional pattern of Beijing is not limited to the central axis. In 1993, the State Council approved the Beijing Urban Master Plan document, proposing to protect the traditional urban central axis, the "convex"-shaped city plan of Beijing in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the river and lake system, the original chessboard road network skeleton and street and alley pattern, and the important urban landscape lines. Pay attention to the characteristics of traditional dwellings and urban colors, and control the building height in a hierarchical manner with the Forbidden City and the Imperial City as the center. Three levels of historical and cultural protection were proposed: protection of cultural relics protection units at all levels, protection of historical and cultural protection areas, and protection of historical and cultural cities as a whole. I was fortunate to preside over the protection planning of Jingshan, the commanding height on the central axis, and the eight surrounding historical and cultural blocks, and the urban design of "Chaofu Street" (Fuchengmen-Chaoyangmen) extending to the east and west with Jingshan as the center.

△ Beijing Central Axis (partial) Photo courtesy of Beijing Central Axis World Heritage Protection Office

Without the historical and cultural blocks, the magnificence of the central axis cannot be reflected. In August 1999, the Beijing Municipal Government announced the "Plan for the Protection and Control of the Historical and Cultural Protection Areas in the Old City of Beijing", which delineated the protection and control scope of the first batch of 25 historical and cultural protection areas announced in 1990. These historical and cultural protection areas cover a total area of ​​1,038 hectares, accounting for 17% of the area of ​​the old city. They are connected with the Imperial City, Sanhai, Bell and Drum Tower areas on the north-south central axis, as well as Dashilan, Temple of Heaven, and Xiannongtan outside Qianmen, which basically reflect the overall pattern of the protection of Beijing's historical and cultural city. Under the leadership of the Beijing Planning Commission, in 2000, I led the team of the China Academy of Urban Planning and Design to compile and complete the protection plan for the eight historical and cultural protection areas in Jingshan in accordance with the principle of protecting "historical authenticity, style integrity and continuity of life". The plan proposed that under the premise of preserving historical style, we should insist on reasonably reducing population density, actively improving infrastructure, optimizing community environment, and mobilizing the enthusiasm of residents to participate in the protection and renewal of blocks through policy guidance, adopting "micro-circulation" protection and renewal, in stages and batches, and persevering. In 2001, the protection plan won the first prize of the National Excellent Planning and Design.

Ideal planning also needs to be supported by correct implementation. Since 2003, the Beijing Municipal Government has promoted the pilot work of the protection and implementation of historical and cultural protection areas. In October 2003, under the leadership of the municipal government, the China Academy of Urban Planning and Design, in collaboration with the Xicheng District Government and the Xicheng District Municipal Administration Committee and other relevant bureaus and commissions, completed the detailed planning and design of the protection of the Zhishanmen Street Historical and Cultural Protection Area between Jingshan and Beihai, and implemented the undergrounding of overhead lines and municipal infrastructure improvement projects, the preliminary renovation of street facades, and the evacuation, repair and utilization of cultural relics such as the Imperial Household Department's Censorate. Siheyuan courtyards are divided into protection, improvement, renovation, and preservation categories based on their history and current status, and the protection and improvement work is being promoted year by year. Government-led, resident participation, and gradual improvement are important experiences in the protection and implementation of the Zhishanmen Street Historical and Cultural Protection Area, and have taken an important step in the protection and implementation of Beijing's historical and cultural blocks. In November 2003, the General Office of the Beijing Municipal People's Government also issued the principles for the protection and repair of houses in the protection area, requiring the protection and restoration of the overall traditional style of the protection area, the protection of historical authenticity, the preservation of historical relics and original appearance; the implementation of the "Protection Plan" is combined with the improvement of infrastructure and the improvement of residents' housing conditions, and adheres to unified planning, municipal priority, organic renewal, and gradual progress; the protection of the protection area is combined with the development outside the old city; government investment is combined with the reasonable burden of house owners or users, and all sectors of society are encouraged to participate, the market role is played, and the enthusiasm of many parties is mobilized. The protection and renewal of the old city requires the establishment of a multi-departmental cooperation working mechanism and the participation of the public at multiple levels. The continuous protection and renewal of the historical and cultural blocks around Jingshan in Beijing and the recent protection and renewal of Chongyong Street have shown that the protection and renewal of the old city is no longer a single building protection or renovation work, but a comprehensive and integrated vision and action for lasting improvement of material, environment, culture, economy and society.

The north-south central axis is the backbone of Beijing, and the east-west Chaofu Street is like a scroll showing the style of the ancient capital, recording the vicissitudes of Beijing's urban history. It is the street in the ancient city of Beijing that best reflects the characteristics of Beijing's urban historical context. In 2002, the China Academy of Urban Planning and Design participated in the urban design of the Beijing Central Axis and Chaofu Street. The urban design of Chaofu Street, which I presided over, takes "the rebirth of historical urban areas in the process of modernization" as the main design concept, and realizes it through the protection of Chaofu Street's historical style, the preservation and reproduction of historical landscapes, the design of spatial structure and spatial sequence, land use and building control, the creation of modern human settlement environment, and the planning and design of transportation development strategies, etc., providing a management basis for protecting and creating pleasant urban aesthetic space.

Mr. Liang Sicheng once said that the value of Beijing's ancient city lies not only in individual building types and individual artistic masterpieces, but most importantly in the overall coordination of various buildings, their relationship with Beijing's overall plan and layout, the complementary relationship between the location of these buildings and the street system, the solemn order of the overall deployment, and the formation of a magnificent and beautiful overall environment. After more than 20 years of protection, planning, management and renewal practices, Beijing has effectively achieved the protection of the traditional architectural form of "Hutong-Siheyuan", the protection of the magnificent order and overall value with the central axis as the skeleton, and continued the traditional pattern and ideal masterpiece of the capital planning, which has effectively promoted Beijing to become the primary window for the exchange and mutual learning of world civilizations.

(The author is a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and deputy chief planner of the China Academy of Urban Planning and Design)