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Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Beijing and Shenyang

China
Factors affecting the property in 2004*
  • Effects arising from use of transportation infrastructure
  • Housing
  • Management activities
  • Management systems/ management plan
Factors* affecting the property identified in previous reports

Urban Pressure; Tourism Pressure; Lack of management mechanism (including legislation). 

International Assistance: requests for the property until 2004
Requests approved: 0
Total amount approved : 0 USD
Conservation issues presented to the World Heritage Committee in 2004

In accordance with decision 27 COM 7B.43 adopted by the 27th session of the World Heritage Committee in 2003, the State Party submitted a progress report to the World Heritage Centre on 16 January 2004. With regard to urban development pressure in Beijing and renewal of the historical and traditional urban fabric of the historic city, the People’s Government of the Beijing Municipality cancelled a project for renovating dilapidated housing in the buffer zone, thereby preventing massive real estate development. Cultural relics are being protected, some high-rise buildings demolished, local populations relocated from the Imperial City and efforts increased to enable inscription of the Imperial City as a cultural World Heritage property.

 

The State Party informed the Secretariat that the People’s Government of the Beijing Municipality has developed a Plan for the Protection of Beijing. This plan calls for the overall conservation and protection of the old city of Beijing and comprises ten specific areas, including the Imperial City, historical water systems, the traditional axial line, the city and the old town’s skylines and the height of buildings.  A Plan for the Protection of the Imperial City has also been elaborated. This includes the gradual removal or reconstruction of buildings, which either block the landscape or are not in conformity, and provisions for strict control of building height in the Imperial City. Plans are also proposed for the maintenance of traditional courtyard housing and the gradual replacement of ‘flat-top’ roofs with sloping ones. Except in the Forbidden City, all buildings in the protected zone will be grey. There will be no road expansion in the protected zone, no will new roads be built in the Imperial City and there will be a gradual reduction of traffic.

 

The World Heritage Centre encouraged the Chinese authorities to review and update management plans for these properties. The People’s Government of the Beijing Municipality has drafted Regulations on the Protection of the City and Administration of Protection Zones, which will be strictly adhered to and implemented once the reviewing process is completed during 2004.  UNESCO and the World Heritage Centre were to provide technical assistance to the Chinese authorities to review and update the existing management plans including conservation and rehabilitation projects in the historic quarters of Beijing.

Decisions adopted by the Committee in 2004
28 COM 14B.30
Nominations of Cultural Properties to the World Heritage List (Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Beijing and Shenyang)

The World Heritage Committee,


1. Noting the agreement of the State Party to a modification of the original name,


2. Approves the extension of the Imperial Palace of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, China, to include the Imperial Palace of the Qing Dynasty in Shenyang under the existing cultural criteria (iii) and (iv). The name of the property as extended becomes Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing
Dynasties in Beijing and Shenyang.


Criterion (iii): The Imperial Palaces bear exceptional testimony to Chinese civilisation at the time of the Ming and Qing dynasties, being true reserves of landscapes, architecture, furnishings and objects of art, as well as carrying exceptional evidence to the living traditions and the customs of Shamanism practised by the Manchu people for centuries.


Criterion (iv): The Imperial Palaces provide outstanding examples of the greatest palatial architectural ensembles in China. They illustrate the grandeur of the imperial institution from the Qing Dynasty to the earlier Ming and Yuan dynasties, as well as Manchu traditions, and present evidence on the evolution of this architecture in the 17th and 18th centuries.


3. Inscribes the Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Beijing and Shenyang, China on the World Heritage List, under cultural criteria (i) and (ii), in addition to the existing cultural criteria (iii) and (iv):


Criterion (i): The Imperial Palaces represent masterpieces in the development of imperial palace architecture in China.


Criterion (ii): The architecture of the Imperial Palace complexes, particularly in Shenyang, exhibits an important interchange of influences of traditional architecture and Chinese palace architecture particularly in the 17th and 18th centuries.


4. Recognizing the efforts already made by the authorities in the management of the Shenyang Palace complex in removing some of the problems in the surroundings,


5. Recommends to the State Party that special attention be given to risk preparedness, sensitive presentation of the Palace in Shenyang and to tourism control programmes there. Rigorous control is recommended on land-use control in the buffer zone in order to avoid any further encroachment in the environment of the property;


6. Requests the State Party to submit supplementary information including a map indicating the core and buffer areas of the Imperial Palace of the Ming and Qing Dynasties World Heritage property inscribed in 1987 by 1 February 2005.

28 COM 15B.54

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Expresses its appreciation to the State Party for the submission of a Progress Report on measures taken to enhance the conservation and presentation of the World Heritage property;

2. Commends the State Party for the strengthening of the legal provisions for the protection of the buffer zones;

3. Encourages the Chinese authorities to continue their efforts to protect the urban historic fabric of Beijing surrounding the World Heritage properties of the Imperial Palace of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the Temple of Heaven and the Summer Palace;

4. Requests the State Party to provide to the World Heritage Centre, supplementary information including detailed maps indicating the protective core and buffer zones of the property;

5. Requests also UNESCO and the World Heritage Centre to provide technical assistance to the Chinese authorities to review and update the existing management plans for these World Heritage properties to ensure long-term comprehensive management;

6. Requests the State Party to submit, by 1 February 2005, a report containing an assessment of the remaining traditional architecture in the buffer zone, together with the finalised management plan for the property, for the consideration of the Committee at its 29th session in 2005.

Draft Decision: 28 COM 15B.54

The World Heritage Committee,

1.  Expresses its appreciation to the State Party for the submission of a Progress Report on measures taken to enhance the conservation and presentation of the World Heritage property;

2.   Commends the State Party for the strengthening of the legal provisions for the protection of the buffer zones;

3.  Encourages the Chinese authorities to continue their efforts to protect the urban historic fabric of Beijing surrounding the World Heritage properties of the Imperial Palace of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the Temple of Heaven and the Summer Palace;

4.  Requests UNESCO and the World Heritage Centre to provide technical assistance to the Chinese authorities to review and update the existing management plans for these World Heritage properties to ensure long-term comprehensive management;

5.  Requests the State Party to submit, by 1st February 2005, a report containing an assessment of the remaining traditional architecture in the buffer zone, together with the finalised management plan for the property, for the consideration of the Committee at its 29th session in 2005. 

Report year: 2004
China
Date of Inscription: 1987
Category: Cultural
Criteria: (i)(ii)(iii)(iv)
Documents examined by the Committee
arrow_circle_right 28COM (2004)
Exports

* : The threats indicated are listed in alphabetical order; their order does not constitute a classification according to the importance of their impact on the property.
Furthermore, they are presented irrespective of the type of threat faced by the property, i.e. with specific and proven imminent danger (“ascertained danger”) or with threats which could have deleterious effects on the property’s Outstanding Universal Value (“potential danger”).

** : All mission reports are not always available electronically.


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