北京中轴线

（中文版文稿）

城市轴线规划的理念或多或少或早或晚存在于世界各地，诸如中东地区、欧洲、非洲、美洲、亚洲都存在城市轴线的身影。

在北京，有一条历经750余年、贯穿老城南北、全长约7.8公里的轴线，这就是著名的“北京中轴线”。这是一条中国乃至世界，现存最长、保存最完整且历史悠久的城市轴线。

北京中轴线是由居中道路联系起来，包括城门，广场、宫殿、御苑坛庙、历史街区等的城市空间整体。

中轴线的北端点是钟楼、鼓楼，中国现存规模最大的古代报时建筑。

万宁桥，始建于13世纪，迄今仍在使用。

景山，明清两代皇家御苑，是北京老城的最高点。

故宫，明清两代皇家宫殿，是中国古代“择中而居”思想的核心体现。

在故宫以南，两侧对称布局着太庙与社稷坛。太庙是皇家祭祀祖先的家庙，象征对先人的敬畏；社稷坛是祈求国泰民安的祭坛，彰显以民为本的思想。

天安门，既是明清皇城的正南门，又是中华人民共和国成立的见证地。

天安门广场上矗立着人民英雄纪念碑、毛主席纪念堂，两侧对称布局中国国家博物馆、人民大会堂，是传统中轴线规划理念和实践的延续，同时见证了从皇权为中心，到以人民为中心的重大转变，成为当代中国举行国事活动的重要场所。

正阳门是北京老城最宏伟的城门。

正阳门南侧，形成了民间商业街区，凝聚着民俗文化的精华。

从正阳门到永定门，由一条笔直的道路贯通，这是古代皇帝祭祀出行的御路，也是今天首都核心区的绿色廊道。

御路两侧，古代祭坛对称布局。东侧的天坛，表达敬天祈谷之意；西侧的先农坛，寓意风调雨顺之愿。

北京中轴线的南端点是永定门。现有的城楼为2005年严格按照原有建筑形制及传统工艺复建而成。

北京中轴线是中国都城规划建设的大成之作。

中国历代都城，根据《周礼·考工记》“左祖右社、面朝后市”的原则，严格以宫城为中心、礼制为核心，进行整体城市规划建设。由此形成的中轴线，是中国古代都城区别于其他城市的显著特征。

7世纪，隋唐长安城，宫城、皇城与城郭都以城中心的朱雀大街为轴线，棋盘式的里坊，宗庙衙署、庙宇市场左右对称布局，形成了严谨而富于秩序的城市格局。

从10世纪至14世纪中期，北宋汴梁城、金中都、元上都，均以中轴线作为都城规划建设的核心。

北京中轴线，作为北京老城中心区域，经历了750余年的发展演进。

1267年,元大都——这座马可·波罗笔下最伟大的都城，形成了北起中心台，南至丽正门，长约3.75公里的中轴线。

1420年，明永乐皇帝在元大都的基础上营建北京城，沿用并向南延长了中轴线，同时在中轴线两侧构建了布局严谨的皇家祭祀建筑群。

1553年，明嘉靖皇帝修建外城，中轴线南端点延至永定门。

清代进一步丰富并强化了北京中轴线的空间序列。此后，北京中轴线基本格局延续至今，成为北京这座城市的脊梁所在、魂魄所依。

在近750余年的时代变迁中，北京中轴线秉承“中正和合”的文化传统，彰显传统与现代、物质与精神的有机结合；北京中轴线秉承“多元一体”的治理理念，见证多民族文化习俗与生活方式交汇融合，与时俱进，世代传承。

北京中轴线是中国首都城市轴线规划的无比杰作，是中国国家礼仪秩序的极致象征，是凝聚中国各族人民砥砺奋进的精神支柱。

随着北京城市的发展，今日的北京南北城市轴线，向南是世界上最大单体航站楼——北京大兴国际机场，向北是奥林匹克公园，既是历史的延续，也是推动城市可持续发展的文化轴、生态轴、发展轴。伴随着北京这座古老而现代的城市不断发展，北京中轴线一定会得到真实完整地保护、永续传承。

北京中轴线

（英文版文稿）

The concept of city axis can be seen to some extent in the urban planning of countries around the world. For instance, the design of urban axis exists in the Middle East, Europe, Africa, the Americas, and Asia.

In Beijing, there is a 750-year-old, 7.8-kilometer-long axis that runs north-to-south through the old city. This is Beijing Central Axis.

It is an ancient and the longest, best preserved urban axis in China and the world.

Beijing Central Axis covers an urban space with city gates, squares, palaces, gardens, altars, temples and historic districts all linked up to one main road in the central.

At its northernmost are the Bell Tower and Drum Tower – they are China’s biggest ancient timekeeping buildings that still exist.

Wanning Bridge, constructed in the 13th century, is still in use .

Jingshan Hill, the imperial garden during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, is the highest point of the old city.

The Forbidden City,  emperors’ palaces during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, exemplifies the ancient Chinese philosophical pursuit of the central location.

South of the Forbidden City, there are the Imperial Ancestral Temple and the Altar of Land and Grain, arranged symmetrically on each side. The Imperial Ancestral Temple was where the imperial family worshipped their ancestors and  symbolized respect for the forebears. The Altar of Land and Grain reflects the people-centered governance philosophies of ancient China, as it was where emperors prayed for peace and prosperity.

Tian’anmen Square, once the main south gate of the imperial city during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, bore witness to the birth of the People’s Republic of China.

The Monument to the People’s Heroes and the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall both lie on the axis of Tian’anmen Square, while the National Museum of China and the Great Hall of the People sit symmetrically on each side. This is an extension of traditional central axis planning. The square testifies the great change from rule by the emperor to rule by the people and now becomes a major site for state activities. .

Zhengyangmen Gate was the most magnificent city gate of old Beijing.

On its south side, the commercial area is arranged, displaying the essence of Chinese folk culture.

There is a straight road that runs from Zhengyangmen Gate to Yongdingmen Gate. In the past, the emperors took to the road to hold worshiping ceremonies. Today, it is an urban veranda of lush vegetation in downtown Beijing.

Ancient ceremonial buildings flank this road; to the east there is the Temple of Heaven, where prayers to heaven and for grain were made, and to the west there is the Altar of the God of Agriculture, where harvest ceremonies were performed.

Yongdingmen Gate Tower, the southern terminus of Beijing Central Axis, was reconstructed in 2005 pursuant to its exact original architecture by using traditional techniques.

Beijing Central Axis is one of the greatest achievements of urban planning and construction in China.

China’s capital cities in past dynasties, have abided by the principles of urban planning laid out in the Rites of Zhou: Book of Diverse Crafts, featuring ancestral shrines on the left and altar of land and grain on the right，courts in the front and markets behind,. This layout requires the imperial palace to act as the center for the planning of the city, guided by the ancient Chinese ritual system. Central axes formed in this context are what distinguishes China’s ancient cities from other cities around the world.

During the 7th century, in Chang’an, the capital of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the palace, the imperial city, and the outer city all used Zhuque Boulevard as their central axis. The city’s symmetrical grid arrangement of neighborhoods, shrines, government offices, temples and markets created a uniform and well-ordered city layout.

From the 10th century to the Mid-14th century, Bianliang of the Northern Song Dynasty, Zhongdu (Middle Capital) of the Jin Dynasty, and Xanadu (Upper Capital) of the Yuan Dynasty were all planned around a central axis.

Beijing Central Axis, as the center of Beijing old city, has undergone more than 750 years of evolution.

In 1267, a 3.75-kilometer-long central axis ran from the Central Platform in the north to the Lizhengmen Gate in the south was formed in the Dadu City of the Yuan dynasty, which was praised by Marco Polo as the greatest capital city.   .

In 1420, the Yongle Emperor ordered the construction of Beijing on the foundation of Dadu. He retained the Central Axis, extended it to the south, and had buildings of imperial worship put up in orderly layout on both sides of the Axis.

In 1553, the Jiajing Emperor of the Ming Dynasty had Beijing’s outer city built up and extended the Central Axis further south to Yongding Gate.

During the Qing Dynasty, the Central Axis underwent further changes that strengthened its spatial order. Since then, the Central Axis’ basic layout has remained the same to this day. It is the city’s backbone and its spirit.

Throughout the past 750 years, Beijing Central Axis has adhered to traditional Chinese ideas of rightness and harmony. It is a dynamic integration of past and present, a combination of the tangible and the spiritual. The Central Axis exemplifies the concepts of pluralistic unity in governance and demonstrates a fusion of cultures and customs of many ethnic groups. It kept pace with the times and is preserved through history.

Beijing Central Axis is a masterpiece of urban planning. It is a symbol of China’s ritual system and the pursuit of order.

Now Beijing central axis has been extended south toward the world’s largest single-building terminal, Daxing International Airport, and north toward Olympic Park. As an extension of the past, it also becomes a cultural, ecological and developmental axis that contributes to the capital’s sustainable growth.

As Beijing, a city buoyant with both ancient and modern features, keeps evolving, its central axis will be protected and transmitted integrally and authentically and in a sustainable way.