The history of the vicissitudes of ancient buildings, the fireworks in the hutongs, every scene and everything on the roadside have stories. Ride the central axis and feel the cultural charm of the capital.

　　The reporter followed the cycling enthusiasts on a tour of Beijing's central axis, from Yongdingmen in the south to the Bell and Drum Tower in the north. Cyclists said that the application of the central axis as a world heritage endowed cycling with a rich cultural heritage, and the construction of bicycle lanes along the line was more perfect. More and more, cyclists have gradually become the beautiful scenery of the city.

　　"Cycling on the central axis, Yongdingmen, Tianqiao, Zhengyangmen, the Forbidden City, Jingshan, Wanning Bridge, Shichahai, Bell and Drum Tower... Every place has its own story." Recently, 8 years of riding experience Cycling enthusiast Li Changchang told the reporter of "Workers' Daily".

　　In recent years, the central axis application work has been written into the "Beijing Master Plan (2016-2035)" and "Regulatory Detailed Planning of the Capital Functional Core Area (Block Level) (2018-2035)", and the central axis application has become It is a key project for Beijing to promote the construction of a national cultural center.

　　The Central Axis application is an attempt by Beijing to repair and protect historical and cultural relics.

What is the charm of the central axis, how to maximize the activation of historical memory in protection, how do cycling enthusiasts and residents view the transformation and persistence of the central axis?

Our reporter visited this.

　　Experience the fusion of modernity and tradition

　　"Cycling along the central axis, you can not only feel the vicissitudes of history of the city, but also see the fireworks in the hutongs, and experience the charm of the fusion of modern cities and ancient capitals." Li Changchang said.

　　At the 2022 Beijing Historical and Cultural City Protection Dialogue, Li Qun, Vice Minister of Culture and Tourism and Director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, said that recently, the party group of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage has determined and recommended the "Beijing Central Axis" as my country's 2024 World Cultural Heritage.

　　In the early winter, the reporter of "Worker's Daily" followed the cycling enthusiasts to tour the central axis of Beijing and feel the charm of history and culture.

　　Wanning Bridge, built from the Yuan Dynasty to the 22nd year of the Yuan Dynasty (1285), has always been an important traffic artery.

Wanning Bridge used to be a wooden bridge in the Jin Dynasty. In the Yuan Dynasty, the wooden bridge was expanded into a stone bridge, and water town animals were built on both sides.

In the third year of Yuan Taiding, Wanning Bridge was rebuilt into a high open three-hole stone arch bridge.

　　The section between Di'anmenwai Street where Wanning Bridge is located and the Bell and Drum Tower is still the main road of the city.

The reporter saw on the bridge that the stone carvings on the outside of the bridge arch and the surrounding water-suppressing animals are still vivid.

　　"Since the World Heritage application, more and more people have begun to understand the history of the central axis and Wanning Bridge." Over the past six years, Ms. Nie, a Beijing citizen, has passed Wanning Bridge every day to and from get off work. She told reporters that in the past two years, Wanning Bridge The bridge body and the surrounding environment of the bridge have been fully repaired and are more beautiful than before.

　　Old buildings show new look

　　"Every time you ride on this road, you forget all your troubles, and everything on the roadside can bring you into the story." When it comes to the experience of riding on the central axis, he has nearly 40 years of riding Mr. Sun, an experienced Beijing citizen, told reporters.

　　"The central axis is a cycling route with culture, stories, history, and inheritance. Suburban cycling focuses more on the experience of extreme sports, while central axis cycling is an experience with a strong sense of history." Mr. Sun For example, every time you pass Zhengyangmen, you can see the historical changes of the city.

　　Zhengyangmen is located at the southern end of Tiananmen Square in Beijing. It is composed of two tall buildings, the gate tower and the archery tower in the north and south. The gate tower is located on the north side, and the archery tower is located on the south side.

　　In 1990, the repaired Zhengyangmen Gate was reopened to the public as a museum. In 2021, the Zhengyangmen Archery Tower was fully repaired, and hidden dangers such as water seepage from the city platform, ground collapse, and relief falling off were fully resolved.

On this basis, the railings and platform are also reinforced, and the safety strength is improved.

　　It is understood that Beijing will also officially launch the renovation of the Zhengyangmen Gate Tower. This renovation will adjust the regulation of paint and paintings on the gate tower, and reproduce the traditional architectural decoration craft of "golden thread and small dots of gold", in line with the principle of minimal intervention , to retain historical information as much as possible, and to help the success of the Central Axis World Heritage application.

　　During the ride, Li Changchang told reporters that every time he rides, he can see the Tiananmen Gate Tower and the Monument to the People's Heroes when passing by Chang'an Street. In summer, he will deliberately ride to Tiananmen Square before sunset to wait for the flag-lowering ceremony.

　　"The biggest feeling of riding on the central axis is that it seems to be in the intersection of history and the present, imagining the past in ancient buildings, and looking forward to the future amidst the traffic." Li Changchang said.

　　The Organic Combination of Heritage Protection and Urban Tourism

　　In order to ensure the full implementation of the application for protection of cultural heritage, Beijing Municipality, on the basis of excavating the historical value of the central axis, successively revised and completed the "Beijing Central Axis Declaration Text for the World Heritage List" and "Beijing Central Axis Protection Management Plan".

　　"The application of the central axis will definitely have a great impact on cycling." Li Changchang said that in his daily riding, he obviously felt that the construction of bicycle lanes along the line was more perfect and the arrangements were more reasonable, and the number of people riding on the road became more and more. With more and more cyclists, cyclists have gradually become a beautiful landscape and business card of the city.

　　Mr. Sun said that the application of the central axis not only allows the historical culture to be inherited, but also adds new route options for cyclists, endowing cycling with a rich cultural heritage.

　　"The application of the central axis as a world heritage can improve the construction of hutong houses, green the environment, and promote the growth of tourism economy." Talking about the significance of the application of the central axis, Ms. Nie said that in 2000, the old channel of the Tonghui River was excavated under the Wanning Bridge And related relics, the historical and cultural landscapes on the east and west sides are more complete, forming a unique and complete heritage site, which is a successful case of the organic combination of relic protection and urban tourism development.

　　(Source: Workers' Daily, December 21, 2022, Edition 03)