Beijing plans to build a buffer zone to safeguard the Imperial Palace

Beijing's plan to build a buffer zone to protect the world's cultural heritage, the Imperial Palace, has drawn wide attention, and won a popular welcome and appraisal at the UNESCO (United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organization) World Heritage Committee's 29th session held in Durban, South Africa on July 16, according to Xinhua.

The plan will effectively protect the traditional style, features and historical authenticity of the environment surrounding the palace, said Chinese officials attending the session.

The committee held close-door discussions about the actual state preservation of the palace as a world heritage site on July 16, which had been held for three consecutive years with the main reason that it worried about the city's development's influence on the preservation of the palace, also known as Forbidden City, and its surrounding areas.

According to the plan, the zone will include the following areas: from Zheng Yang Men (South-facing Gate Tower) in the south and the two sides of Tian'anmen Square, to the area of Di'anmen and the Second Ring Road in the north composed of the five historical cultural preservation streets and areas of the Shishahai Park, the Forbidden City, Guozijian Street, and North and South Luoguxiang. The zone covers an area of 1,377 hectares or 1,463 hectares if the imperial palace included, said Kong Fanchi, deputy director of Beijing Cultural Relics Bureau.

According to the requirements of the World Heritage Committee, the original historical features and environment will be maintained in the defined areas surrounding the cultural heritage or inside "buffer zones''. The zones mainly embody the integration of the heritage between the two requirements of integrity and authenticity.

By People's Daily Online