"Digital Night Watchmen" Protect Beijing's Central Axis
2024-08-12
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Our reporters: Chen Qian, Li Yuche, Ji Yuqiao, and Zhang Ni
At the 46th UNESCO World Heritage Conference, Beijing's Central Axis was officially included in the World Heritage List for its unique historical value and cultural significance, marking the total number of China's world heritage sites to 59. Beijing's Central Axis connects the past and the future, integrating tradition and modernity. This historic decision not only affirms the historical value of Beijing's Central Axis, but also highlights the continuity and unique charm of Chinese civilization.
Still "breathing" for hundreds of years
Lv Zhou, the director of the Beijing Central Axis World Heritage Site Application Team and the director of the National Heritage Center of Tsinghua University, said that the Beijing Central Axis is a core building complex located in the center of Beijing's old city and determines the shape of Beijing's old city. It runs from north to south in the old city, with a total length of 7.8 kilometers. It was built in the 13th century and formed in the 16th century. It has been continuously improved since then. After more than 7 centuries, it has formed an orderly and magnificent urban building complex. Lv Zhou said: "This huge building complex brings together the most important national monuments, ceremonial buildings and landmark buildings in Chinese history since the 13th century, showing the representative material form characteristics of Chinese civilization."
"The Central Axis of Beijing is a unique witness to Chinese civilization. As a representation of the development of civilization, the city must present the main characteristics of the civilization it carries from all aspects." Lu Zhou said that in Chinese cultural tradition, the choice of the location of the capital is of great significance. Its position in the country must not only conform to the central position in the concept, but also correspond to the position of specific constellations in the sky. This is also an important part of the Chinese civilization's concept of "harmony between man and nature."
Lü Zhou said that Beijing's Central Axis, with its grand scale, balanced planning pattern and well-organized urban landscape, has become an outstanding example of the development of China's traditional capital city's central axis to a mature stage, and is also the most complete traditional capital city central axis building complex in China. While showing the pattern of China's capital, the Central Axis is also a vivid interpretation of the integration of ancient heritage and contemporary life. Beijing's Central Axis also has important historical significance, witnessing the historical transformation of Chinese society from dynastic rule to a modern country. Hundreds of years later, it is still "breathing".
Crossing time and space, connecting the East and the West
In Beijing, whether it is the old Beijingers in the hutongs or the foreign friends who come from afar, they are all feeling, inheriting and promoting the culture of the central axis. This line is not only the central axis of Beijing, but also a link connecting different cultures and different times.
Zhao Yan lives on Di'anmen Inner Street. As the Central Axis Protection Project continues to advance, she has witnessed with her own eyes that the street in front of her home has gradually regained its former glory. The alleys on both sides of the street are lined with shops and crowded with tourists. Various supporting facilities are gradually being completed. Even the old neighbors who moved out of the alleys have chosen to return to their old houses. The community is bustling and orderly.
Since becoming the co-director of the EU-China Cooperation Project in 2001, Dutch landscape architect Tom Walters has had an indissoluble bond with Beijing. Walters' home is located in a hutong near Jingshan. His neighbors, the old Beijingers who have lived here for generations, are also Walters' enlightenment teachers in understanding Beijing and the central axis. Walters told the Global Times reporter that the way of giving directions in Beijing is different. It is not a simple "go straight, turn left, turn right", but "north, east, south". He believes that this is closely related to the north-south direction of the central axis and the chessboard street pattern. This unique way of giving directions made him feel the orderly beauty of Beijing's urban pattern.
Walters said that he often invites friends and guests to stroll in the hutongs and sit in the courtyards of the quadrangle to listen to stories about old Beijing and the central axis. For him, these stories are a window to understand Beijing and the central axis. Walters believes that the inclusion of the central axis in the World Heritage List is a tribute to Beijing's long history. As a living history, the central axis of Beijing not only carries the past, but also guides the future.
Alexander, a Sinology student from Moscow State University, shared his trip to Beijing with the Global Times. He and his companions have visited several historical sites including the Drum Tower and the Bell Tower. He said that when he and his companions climbed up the Bell Tower and saw the beautiful scenery on the central axis of Beijing - the bustling streets, the humane alleys, the beautiful parks, and the ancient bell on the Bell Tower, he felt as if he had traveled through time and space.
A modern interpretation of the central axis of wisdom
After 12 years, the successful application of Beijing's Central Axis for World Heritage status is China's latest achievement in the field of heritage protection. At the same time, it also symbolizes the starting point of the sustainable development of this heritage in the "post-application era". Whether it is the "tangible" ancient architectural heritage on the Beijing Central Axis or the "intangible" humanistic spirit behind it, how to make them be passed on in a living state at the moment is a multidimensional and complex task, and the intervention of "science and digitalization" technology provides a "handle" for it. In order to manage the Beijing Central Axis in real time and more intelligently, the Central Axis Heritage Protection Center (Beijing World Cultural Heritage Monitoring Center) was established in 2021. The center consists of three parts: the monitoring center, the archives center, and the management center, which escort the Beijing Central Axis.
There is a huge digital screen in the Central Axis Heritage Protection Center. The screen shows that the "core area" and "buffer zone" belonging to the Beijing Central Axis are divided into red and green areas, with many mobile icons scattered around. Click on one of them to see the real-time movement of a certain point in the heritage area, including the flow of people around it, real-time photos, building protection and usage, etc. Zhou Ziyu, director of the Heritage Monitoring Department of the Beijing Central Axis Heritage Protection Center (Beijing World Cultural Heritage Monitoring Center), said that similar equipment is usually used in airports and railway stations, but is now being innovatively used in the field of heritage management. "Previously, international protection experts were surprised and shocked by the scale of our monitoring screen. It can be seen that with the continuous economic development and technological progress of our country, our technology in cultural heritage protection is also at the forefront of the world."
Taking the center as an example, China's "smart" investment in heritage protection is closely related to the development of national independent innovation. Relying on China's Beidou satellite navigation system, the monitoring equipment of the Central Axis Heritage Protection Center is able to accurately monitor heritage sites at the micron level. At the same time, the "digital twin" system built by the center allows heritage landmarks such as the Bell and Drum Tower to be presented in 3D, helping monitoring personnel to find problems in three-dimensional scenes. With the "mobile inspection APP" developed by the center, the information captured by these high-tech can be fed back to the monitoring center in a timely manner. The "smart" intervention not only speeds up the protection of Beijing's central axis, but also shows new prospects in China's cultural protection field.
"With the combination of technology and heritage protection, cultural heritage protection personnel have become more like a bridge connecting 'ancient history' and 'modern technology'," Zhou Ziyu told the Global Times. Relying on the online channel of "Digital Night Watchman", the public can participate in the daily monitoring of Beijing's Central Axis by "checking in" on the spot. At the same time, the "Digital Central Axis·Microcosmos" immersive online interactive project built with game technology allows players to appreciate the changes of the Central Axis over the past 700 years by tapping the mobile phone screen.
Deng Chao, Director of the Department of Cultural Relics and Historic Sites (World Cultural Heritage Department) of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, said: "We want the public to understand the Central Axis of Beijing. This may be a major issue that the management and protection agencies of the Central Axis of Beijing need to pay long-term attention to after the successful application for World Heritage status."▲#Deep Good Articles Project#
