500-year-old palace at Beijing’s central axis opens to public after restoration

The Qingcheng Palace complex, a royal sacrificial venue along the historic central axis of Beijing, opened to the public after restoration work on Saturday.

Built in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the palace is located inside the Altar of the God of Agriculture, also referred to as the Xiannongtan Temple. The palace was formerly known as Zhaigong, which literally translates to the fasting palace. It was a place where the emperors abstained from heavy meals and meditated before worship.

It was renamed as Qingcheng Palace in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), becoming a place where the emperors held celebratory rituals after cultivation ceremonies while praying for a good harvest.

Restoration work of the ancient buildings started in June last year, following the principle of “minimal intervention.”

Reference Link:- https://english.news.cn/20241221/511facff114b4dc888dff149c919d38e/c.html

Prof. Engr. Zamir Ahmed Awan Founder & Chair, Global Silk Route Research Alliance

Zamir Ahmed Awan is the founder and Chair of the Global Silk Route Research Alliance, a think tank in Islamabad. He studied engineering at Shanghai University in the 1980s, and years later he went back to China as Pakistan's science counsellor in Beijing, from 2010 until 2016, working on science and higher education cooperation between the two countries.…