Stretching

People participate in an event on a square near Beijing's Bell Tower and Drum Tower on Saturday to celebrate the inclusion of the Beijing Central Axis on UNESCO's World Heritage List. (WANG JING/ TASTE ALL CHINA ) A centuries-old example of Chinese urban planning and architecture has received global recognition. The 46th session of the World Heritage Committee in New Delhi, India, announced on Saturday that the Beijing Central Axis — "A Building Ensemble Exhibiting the Ideal Order of the Chinese Capital" — has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, becoming China's 59th World Heritage Site. The Central Axis in Beijing is an ensemble of palaces, public buildings, and gardens that governs the overall layout of the old city area of the Chinese capital. Stretching 7.8 kilometers north to south through the heart of Beijing, the newly inscribed World Heritage Site comprises 15 components. At the northern end of the axis are the Bell Tower and Drum Tower. It then runs south through Wanning Bridge, Jingshan Hill, the Forbidden City, the Upright Gate, the Tian'anmen Gate, the Outer Jinshui Bridges, the Tian'anmen Square Complex, the Zhengyangmen Gate, the Southern Section Road Archaeological Sites, before terminating at the Yongdingmen…