A city of world renown, Beijing is time honored with five world-class cultural heritages and 60 state-class key historical cultural sites alongside the others to make a total of 3553 put under protection.

As formulated by related authorities as the first ever known in Beijing, there are a large number of historical cultural units, relics and sites put under protection of Beijing Ruling. Ancient city sites, hydro-system, traditional axis, Forbidden City, ancient "convex" city walls, roads, streets and lanes, old structures and sights, color, old trees, altogether under 10 large categories are to be listed for protection.

Protection of key historical cultural sites will be in a prior place atop Beijing Ruling as made known. Adding to 24 historical cultural heritages will be 15 new sites to make a total of 40 historical cultural sites to be put under protection. Of these, 30 are located in the old city proper of Beijing over a total area of 1278 hectares or 21 percent of old Beijing. When adding in those by related relics units the control areas put under protection would amount to 2617 hectares or 42 percent of the city proper of old Beijing.

Beijing Ruling demands that the related relics departments take "compounds, courtyards" as basic units and see to it that no new or reconstruction projects should be arranged destroying the former layout of "courts or lanes". Lying at the center of Beijing over an area of 6.8 square kilometers, Qing Dynasty's Forbidden City thereabout is to be planned as the biggest historical cultural site on which a reduction of the density of population residing is demanded, where no two- or three-storied buildings should be erected. With the last finest touches applied as planned, Forbidden City is going to be made a World Cultural Heritage according to planners in Beijing.

(People?s Daily September 19, 2002)