On the afternoon of September 19, the award 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 award ceremony and met with Azoulay.

On July 27 last year, the 46th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee adopted the decision to inscribe “Beijing Central Axis – A Building Ensemble Exhibiting the Ideal Order of the Chinese Capital” in the World Heritage List. Beijing has been earnestly following General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important instruction on strengthening the preservation, inheritance, and utilization of cultural and natural heritage. Consistent efforts in preserving and utilizing the Central Axis have further reinforced the protection of the entire old town, bringing renewed vitality and brilliance to the “backbone of Beijing”. After the award ceremony, Chinese and foreign guests ascended to the Zhengyangmen Archery Tower, where they visited the thematic exhibition Beijing Central Axis – A Building Ensemble Exhibiting the Ideal Order of the Chinese Capital. They learned about the achievements of the preservation and utilization of the Central Axis and experienced the magnificent spatial order of Beijing.

During the meeting, Yin Li said that this year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, as well as the 80th anniversary of the founding of UNESCO. Over the past eight decades, UNESCO has made important contribution to promoting exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations, as well as world peace and development. He highlighted Beijing’s readiness to work with UNESCO to further promote cultural exchanges between China and the rest of the world and contribute to global development. The successful inscription of the Central Axis represents a major achievement in the preservation of Beijing’s historical and cultural heritage. In accordance with the World Heritage Convention, Beijing will continue to promote the systematic protection, revitalization and utilization of cultural heritage and tap into its values to tell stories of the Central Axis to the world, letting more people to appreciate its unique charm. Beijing is currently accelerating its efforts to become a national cultural center and an international center for sci-tech innovation. The city is ready to deepen cooperation with UNESCO in such areas as cultural heritage preservation, education and technology, women and children’s development, and biodiversity conservation. Joint training programs will be carried out on cultural relics preservation, and efforts will be made to strengthen insight sharing and project cooperation in the protection of the old town, cultural relics restoration, and the inheritance of intangible cultural heritage. Leveraging the International Center for Creativity and Sustainable Development, the two sides will co-host the International Forum on Open Science to foster international academic exchanges and joint talent cultivation, further promoting exchanges among civilizations, openness and cooperation.

Azoulay spoke highly of Beijing’s efforts in preserving, revitalizing and utilizing cultural heritage. She said that the time-honored Central Axis embodies profound culture, reflecting the beauty of Beijing as an ancient capital and its vitality as a modern metropolis. UNESCO stands ready to play a positive role in deepening cooperation with Beijing in various fields such as cultural heritage conservation and utilization, with a view to delivering more tangible outcomes.

Wang Jiayi, Vice Minister of Education; Rao Quan, Vice Minister of Culture and Tourism and Head of the National Cultural Heritage Administration; and Sun Junmin, Zhao Lei, and Sima Hong, leading officials of Beijing municipality, were in attendance.