Cycling Along The Central Axis

4. A bicycle ride through Yangmeizhu Xiejie (which literally translates as Slanted Street of Poplar, Plum and Bamboo). The hutongs and courtyards of Beijing are like a big yet delicate chessboard,and Yangmeizhu Xiejie is a unique pawn on said board

The 7.8-km Central Axis of Beijing dates back to the planning and design of the Dadu,capital of the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368).

Reporters from China International Communications Group participated in a tour of Beijing on September 8.They rode electric bicycles starting from Yongdingmen, or the Gate of Perpetual Peace, which is the southern starting point of the city’s Central Axis. After traveling through the streets and alleyways on the western side of the axis, they finally arrived at Zhengyangmen, also known as Qianmen Gate, which is situated to the south of Tiananmen Square.

The central axis is now one step closer to becoming a UNESCO World Heritage Site as it will be part of China’s 2024 application project, the government authority overseeing the application announced in early August. BR

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Copyedited by Elsbeth van Paridon

Comments to dingying@cicgamericas.com

1. Reporters from China International Communications Group (CICG) look at Zhengyangmen, or Qianmen Gate, from the landmark Beijing Fang’s 24-hour PageOne bookstore. Zhengyangmen was built over 17 years during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and is one of the nine city gates of the old Beijing

2. A tour guide shows CICG reporters how to correctly hold a traditional writing brush

3. A reporter tries his hand at the ancient craft of rubbing, gently brushing a piece of rice paperover an ancient-style eave tile to copy a dragon pattern