Heritage with Related Tags
Nan Madol: Ceremonial Centre of Eastern Micronesia
Nan Madol is a chain of islands off the southeast coast of Pohnpei, consisting of more than 100 islets with walls made of basalt and coral boulders. The islets contain remains of stone palaces, temples, tombs and residential areas built between 1200 and 1500 AD. The ruins represent the ceremonial centre of the Sodler dynasty, a vibrant period of Pacific Island culture. The sheer size of the buildings, the technical sophistication and the concentration of megalithic structures attest to the complex social and religious practices of the island society of the time. The site is also on the List of World Heritage in Danger due to threats, particularly due to siltation of waterways, which has led to the rampant growth of mangroves and the destruction of existing buildings.
Fuerte de Samaipata
The archaeological site of Samaipata consists of two parts: the hill with many carvings, believed to be the ceremonial center of the old town (14th-16th centuries), and the area to the south of the hill, which was the administrative and residential area. The huge carved rock overlooking the town below is a unique testimony to pre-Hispanic traditions and beliefs, unparalleled anywhere in the Americas.
Taos Pueblo
Nestled in the valley of a small tributary of the Rio Grande, this adobe settlement consists of dwellings and ceremonial buildings that represent the culture of the Pueblo Indians of Arizona and New Mexico.
Tiananmen Square
Tiananmen was the main gate of the imperial city during the Ming and Qing dynasties. It was a leading ceremonial building sequence and part of the court space for entering and exiting the palace city, reflecting the adherence to the ideal capital city planning paradigm of "facing the back market" recorded in "Kaogongji". Tiananmen was also the place where imperial edicts were issued during the Ming and Qing dynasties and major state events were held in modern times. It is the carrier of national etiquette and witnessed the end of more than 2,000 years of dynasty rule and the establishment of the People's Republic of China. Tiananmen is located on the central axis of Beijing, south of Duanmen, surrounded by the Outer Jinshui River on the south side, facing Tiananmen Square. Its city platform is connected to the imperial city wall, together forming the southern boundary of the imperial city. Tiananmen is mainly composed of a tower. On the south and north sides of the tower, the Outer Jinshui Bridge and stone lions and huabiao are built symmetrically on the left and right sides of the tower along the central axis of Beijing. Tiananmen faces south and consists of two parts: the tower and the tower. There are five arch gates under the tower, and the size of the arch gates symmetrically decreases from the center to the sides. The tower is built on a white marble pedestal, surrounded by white marble railings. It is nine bays wide and five bays deep, reflecting the "Nine Fives System". It has a double-eaved hip roof and is covered with yellow glazed tiles. Tiananmen was the main gate of the imperial city of the Ming and Qing dynasties, and ordinary people were not allowed to enter. Tiananmen also has important ceremonial functions, and is the venue for ceremonial activities such as the Golden Phoenix Edict and the Golden Hall Announcing the Imperial Ceremony. On October 1, 1949, the founding ceremony of the People's Republic of China was held in Tiananmen, marking the birth of the People's Republic of China. To this day, Tiananmen is still the venue for major national celebrations. Tiananmen was built in the 15th year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (1417) and has undergone several repairs. In 1949, the founding ceremony of the People's Republic of China was held here. The Tiananmen Tower was opened to the public after 1988.
Zhengyang Gate
Zhengyangmen is a group of city gate buildings with both defense and city management functions during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. As the south gate of Beijing's inner city in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Zhengyangmen is the largest and most advanced city gate building among the inner and outer city gates of Beijing. It witnessed China's traditional city management methods and is an important viewpoint for overlooking Tiananmen Square, the buildings and the southern section of Beijing's central axis. Zhengyangmen is located at the southern end of Tiananmen Square. It consists of two tall buildings, the city tower and the arrow tower, which are arranged in a north-south column. The city tower is located in the north and the arrow tower is located in the south. As the south gate of the inner city in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Zhengyangmen has a very high national etiquette symbolic significance. Its building scale and form level are higher than other city gates. It is a landmark building of the city wall structure of the old city of Beijing. From the city tower to the north, you can overlook Tiananmen Square. From the arrow tower to the south, you can overlook Qianmen Street and the Yongdingmen city tower in the distance. As the south gate of Beijing's inner city, Zhengyangmen integrates defense, city management and etiquette. The imperial road under Zhengyangmen was specially used for the emperor to worship in the southern suburbs and hunt in the Nanyuan. On weekdays, the gates of the arrow towers were closed, and residents entered and exited from the side doors under the gatehouses on the east and west sides. The curfew system was implemented in the Ming and Qing dynasties, and the city gates opened and closed according to the time of the bell and drum tower to achieve urban management. In the early 20th century, the transformation of the Zhengyangmen area witnessed the process of publicization of Beijing's central axis. Today, Zhengyangmen is open to the public as a museum. Zhengyangmen was first built in the 17th year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (1419). At first, there was only a city gate. From the first year of Zhengtong in the Ming Dynasty (1436) to the fourth year of Zhengtong (1439), the tower, the city wall, the arrow tower, and the east and west gatehouses were added, and the Zhengyang Bridge and the archway were built to the south of the arrow tower. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Zhengyangmen was repeatedly damaged to varying degrees and rebuilt. With the completion of Zhengyangmen West Station of the Beijing-Han Railway and Zhengyangmen East Station of the Beijing-Qin Railway, the Zhengyangmen area became the hub of Beijing's external transportation in modern times, and the traffic flow in the surrounding areas increased dramatically. From 1914 to 1915, the Kyoto Municipal Office renovated the Zhengyangmen area, which is an important witness to the publicization process of Beijing's central axis. In 1990 and 1991, the Zhengyangmen Arrow Tower and the City Tower were opened to the public as museums.
Remains of the road in the southern section of the central axis
The central road in the southern section of Beijing's central axis is an important link that connects the carefully arranged urban buildings and public spaces. It was the only way for national ceremonial activities in the Ming and Qing dynasties. The remains of the southern section of the central axis road have been discovered. The site shows the location, direction, engineering structure and continuous inheritance of the southern section of the central road since the Ming Dynasty with material evidence, and witnesses the national ceremonial culture of Beijing's central axis that has continued to this day. The remains of the southern section of the central axis road are several central road remains distributed from Zhengyangmen to Yongdingmen. As of the end of 2022, it consists of three sites from south to north. Among them, the remains of the stone slab road on the north side of Yongdingmen are located about 100 meters north of Yongdingmen. The stone slab road is distributed on both sides of the center of the road, showing the paving method and shape of the imperial road in the Qing Dynasty; the remains of the central axis historical road inside Yongdingmen are located about 400 meters north of Yongdingmen, showing the use of the central road in different historical stages from Ming Dynasty to modern times; the remains of the drainage ditch on the south central axis road of Zhushikou are located about 5 meters south of the Zhushikou Church, showing the location and shape of the brick-built ditches on both sides of the central road in the Qing Dynasty. The remains of the stone slab road on the north side of Yongdingmen are two sections of granite strips paved with stone slabs. The stone slabs on the east and west sides are of the same shape. They are paved with granite strips or their broken blocks. They are material evidence of the stone road pavement in the Qing Dynasty. The remains of the central axis historical road inside Yongdingmen present the remains of seven roads (L1-L7) pressed in sequence. The hierarchical relationship of Lu pressure fully shows the construction and use history of the central road of Beijing's central axis. Its construction period can be roughly divided into: before the seventh year of Yongzheng (1729) (L7), from the seventh year of Yongzheng (1729) to the Republic of China (L6), the Republic of China (L5) and modern times (L1-L4). The drainage ditch ruins of the Zhushikou South Central Axis Road are brick-built, the bottom of the ditch is paved with blue bricks, covered with stone slabs, and the bottom of the ditch is full of ground nails, showing the engineering construction method of drainage facilities on one side of the central road in the Qing Dynasty. The central road of the southern section of the Beijing Central Axis was the only way for ancient emperors to worship from the palace to the southern suburbs. The remains of the southern section of the road that have been discovered show that the central road of the southern section of the Beijing Central Axis has been in use since the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty. It has been maintained and repaired at different stages of history. It is a tangible carrier of the sacrificial routes and ritual activities of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. In the 18th year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (1420), there was a central road between Zhengyangmen and the Temple of Heaven and Earth (Temple of Heaven) and the Temple of Mountains and Rivers (Temple of Agriculture), which was a dirt road. In the seventh year of Yongzheng's reign (1729), the section from Tianqiao to Yongdingmen was changed to stone. In the fifty-sixth year of Qianlong's reign (1791), two zhang wide earth roads were opened on both sides of the imperial road, and the slab ditches on both sides of the stone road were gradually replaced with brick ditches. Six ditches were also opened on both sides of the stone road in front of the Temple of Heaven and the Temple of Agriculture, which brought about a significant change in the landscape of the section from Tianqiao to Yongdingmen. In the eighteenth year of Jiaqing's reign (1813), the ditch was filled. In the early 20th century, the road was changed to asphalt concrete, and the original Qing Dynasty stone strips were buried underground until they were rediscovered in 2004. In 2022, archaeological excavations further discovered the remains of the historical central axis road inside Yongdingmen and the drainage ditch site of the central axis road south of Zhushikou.
Duanmen
Duanmen is located between Tiananmen and Wumen Gate of the Forbidden City. Between Tiananmen and Duanmen, the court rooms are arranged symmetrically on the east and west sides, with a street gate in the middle, leading to the southern part of the Ancestral Temple and the Altar of Sheji. Duanmen and Wumen also have symmetrical duty rooms on the east and west sides. The right door of the temple and the left door of the community are on the south side, leading to the middle of the Ancestral Temple and the Altar of Sheji; the left door of the que and the right door of the que are on the north side. Duanmen, Wumen, Tiananmen and the inner Thousand-Step Corridors on both sides together form two courtyards with a strong sense of depth, which become the leading ceremonial sequence for entering the palace city. The oppressive and contracted spatial atmosphere formed by the heavy doors and high walls is in sharp contrast to the Taihemen Square that suddenly opens up behind the Wumen Gate, highlighting the majesty of the emperor. Duanmen consists of a city platform and a tower, and its architectural form and volume are basically the same as those of the Tiananmen Tower. The tower is nine bays wide and five bays deep, with a double-eaved hip roof style on the roof, covered with yellow glazed tiles. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the functions of Duanmen Gate were basically the same. It was a place to store the emperor's ceremonial supplies and also a place to organize the ceremonial guards. When the emperor went on tour, he boarded the imperial carriage from Duanmen Gate, which was the beginning of etiquette. When going on tour or returning from activities such as morning court, festivals, and sacrifices, the ceremonial guards lined up neatly on both sides of the corridor, and the bells were struck at Duanmen Gate and the drums were beaten at Wumen Gate. The court rooms on both sides of Duanmen Gate were places for officials to rest and wait before going to court. Today, Duanmen Gate is officially open to the public after renovation. Duanmen Gate was first built in the 18th year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (1420) and rebuilt in the 6th year of Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty (1667). In 1999, Duanmen Gate was officially opened to the public after renovation.