A generation after the Cultural Madness that destroyed all tradition and antiquity, China is moving to restore them. The 700-year-old axis was built in the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368), when Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan and ruler of the Mongol Empire, moved the capital to Beijing in 1264. Although construction was carried out during the time of an ethnic minority regime, the capital was built by the Rites of Zhou, a book on organizational theory that dates back over 2,200 years.
The Records of Ritual and Music in the Rites of Zhou detailed the regulations for constructing a capital city: the court in the front, the market in the back, the ancestral shrines on the left, and the sacrificial altar on the right. Beijing was constructed following this layout, with the arrangement and functions of the city extending from both sides, all interconnected with the Central Axis.
The Beijing Central Axis is seeking to attain UNESCO World Heritage status. But that is not the ultimate goal. What comes along with the world heritage bid is the revival of long-deserted ancient architecture, the discovery of scattered history, the combination of ancient buildings and city development, and, of course, an attraction for global visitors. China wants to become what it traditionally had been. I would not be surprised if a new dynasty is proclaimed.
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