2021-2022学年度高二第38期总第868期
Reveal Beijing’s design (page 4)
邯郸市第一中学   张蕴

I. Lead-in
Can you name these Beijing landmarks? What do they have in common?

These famous landmarks are all located along Beijing’s central axis.

As the best-preserved core area of the old city of Beijing, the central axis is now under consideration for UNESCO World Heritage status.

II. Read for information
1. The basic information about the central axis? (what/when/where)
What: The central axis refers to the “line” that separates the eastern and western parts of Beijing.
Where: At 7.8 kilometers long, it runs from Yongding Gate in the south to the Bell Tower and Drum Tower in the north.
When: Construction began in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), and continued during the Ming and Qing dynasties.

2. Why is it so important?
The central axis is like the backbone of Beijing.
The central axis shows the traditional Chinese concept of “respecting the center”.
The central axis also shows traditional Chinese ideas like harmony between man and nature and following order.

3. Do other cities possess similar lines of organization?
During the Three Kingdoms period (220-280), the city of Yecheng had a street running from east to west. It separated the royal palaces from common people’s living and business areas.
In Chang'an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), there was a wide street going north to south. It made the city symmetrical.  

4. What’s the significance of the central axis?
The central axis is more than a material relic. It is also a continuation (延续) of the traditional Chinese city layout.

III. Words and expressions
1. landmark                 地标  
2. well-preserved             保存完好的  
3. refer to                  指的是                                           
4. run                      延伸                    
5. layout                    布局

IV. Sentence structure
Beijing was not the first city to use a central axis.
名词由序数词或最高级修饰时，多使用不定式做定语：
1.He was the first guest to arrive.
2.Miss Brown was the best person to do the job.
3. He would be the last to agree to the plan.

General Features of Chinese Architecture

https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1qg411K7j8/?spm_id_from=333.788.recommend_more_video.0