[Photo via VCG]
On September 19, the awarding ceremony for the World Heritage Certificate of the Beijing Central Axis was held at the Zhengyangmen Archery Tower. Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, presented the certificate to the city of Beijing. Yin Li, Secretary of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee, attended the ceremony and held a meeting with Azoulay.
Earlier, on July 27, 2024, at its 46th session on July 27, 2024, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee adopted a resolution to inscribe "Beijing Central Axis—A Building Ensemble Exhibiting the Ideal Order of the Chinese Capital" on the World Heritage List.
Beijing has steadily intensified the preservation and sustainable use of the cultural heritage of Beijing Central Axis. This effort has in turn boosted the holistic protection of the old urban area, revitalizing this "backbone of the ancient capital" with renewed vitality and brilliant charm.
Following the ceremony, Chinese and international guests ascended the Zhengyangmen Archery Tower to view the special exhibition "Beijing Central Axis—A Building Ensemble Exhibiting the Ideal Order of the Chinese Capital". The exhibition highlights achievements in conservation and revitalisation of the Central Axis, while offering visitors the chance to experience the grandeur and harmony of Beijing's urban spatial order.
During the meeting, Yin stated that this year marks the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations and UNESCO. Over the past 80 years, UNESCO has played an important role in promoting the exchange and mutual learning among civilizations and advancing world peace and development. Beijing is willing to work with UNESCO to make greater efforts for cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries and global common development. The successful inscription of the Beijing Central Axis on the World Heritage List is a major achievement in preserving Beijing’s historical and cultural heritage. Yin noted that Beijing will continue to promote the systematic protection and adaptive reuse of cultural heritage in accordance with the World Heritage Convention. It will further explore the value of the heritage, tell the story of the Central Axis to the world, and enable more people to appreciate its unique charm. Currently, Beijing is accelerating the construction of a national cultural center and an international center for science and technology innovation. It is ready to deepen cooperation with UNESCO in fields, such as cultural heritage protection, the development of education and science and technology, the cause of women and children, and biodiversity conservation. Such cooperation will involve jointly organizing cultural heritage protection technology training, strengthening experience sharing and project cooperation in historic city conservation, cultural relic restoration and the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage. In addition, Beijing will fully leverage the role of the International Centre for Creativity and Sustainable Development under the auspices of UNESCO (ICCSD), co-host the Open Science International Forum, and enhance international academic exchanges and joint talent training, so as to further promote the interaction, openness and cooperation among civilizations.
Azoulay highly praised Beijing’s efforts in advancing the protection and dynamic utilization of cultural heritage. She pointed out that the Beijing Central Axis has a long history and profound cultural connotations, and that this axis has successfully integrated the beauty of Beijing as an ancient capital with its modern charm. UNESCO is ready to actively fulfill its role and continuously deepen exchanges and cooperation with Beijing in various fields such as cultural heritage protection and utilization to deliver more concrete outcomes.
(Source: Beijing Daily)
