Beijing Central Axis: A Building Ensemble Exhibiting the Ideal Order of the Chinese Capital

An invisible line rules old Beijing. Along the Central Axis, running north–south through the historic city, stand former imperial palaces and gardens, altars of state sacrifice and great civic buildings, arranged to match the ideal capital laid down in the ancient Kaogongji, the Book of Diverse Crafts. The axis took shape when the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368) set its capital of Dadu here, and was elaborated under the Ming and Qing. UNESCO inscribed the ensemble in 2024.