Beijing unveils plan to protect nerve centre, cultural heritage at heart of the capital

Name: China unveils plan to protect cultural heritage in central Beijing
Uploaded: 2020-09-01T02:00:40.000Z
Duration: 1 min 28 s
Description: China unveils plan to protect cultural heritage in central Beijing

Central government aims to improve inner city area by 2035 through urban development and better conservation of historic sites

Number of residents will also be reduced, with more public services to be provided, but there is no mention of who will be relocated

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The authorities plan to improve conservation of Beijing’s centre, where historic sites like Tiananmen, or the Gate of Heavenly Peace, are located. Photo: Shutterstock

Matt HoandKeegan Elmer

Published: 10:00am, 1 Sep 2020Updated: 10:00am, 1 Sep 2020

Beijing city authorities have unveiled a long-term plan to “safeguard the operation of the central government” and cultural heritage at the heart of the Chinese capital, where the Forbidden City and Communist Party headquarters are located.

Details of the central government’s vision to improve the inner city area by 2035 – emphasising its status as a “civilised and grandiose capital with a thousand years of history” – were released on Sunday.

The plan involves urban development, improving conservation of remaining historic sites such as the narrow alleyways that form hutong residential districts, reducing the number of residents and providing more public services to those who live there.

It is the final part of a blueprint to revamp Beijing that began in 2017 and includes two new administrative centres, in Xiongan and Tongzhou, to help reduce urban development pressure in the city of 21 million.

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China unveils plan to protect cultural heritage in central Beijing

The inner city area where the wall around ancient Beijing once stood – it was torn down in the early years of communist rule – covers 92.5 sq km (35.7 sq miles) in the Dongcheng and Xicheng districts.