Beijing and Fujian join hands to promote cultural inheritance and innovation

On May 25, the opening ceremony for the “Central Axis Seal”, co-sponsored by the Beijing Central Axis Protection Foundation and the Fujian Yanhuang Culture Research Institute, was held in the Fuzhou-located China Shoushan Stone Museum.

The Central Axis in Beijing, included on the UNESCO World Heritage List on July 27, 2024, stretches 7.8 kilometers from north to south in the ancient city of Beijing, dotted with 15 core heritage sites and epitomizing the philosophic wisdom featuring harmony between man and nature as well as the oriental order characterized by rites and music integration. Shoushan stone carving well represents China’s happiness culture, and helps preserve cultural inheritance for millennia. The “Central Axis Seal” program has used seal cutting to combine the Beijing Central Axis with Shoushan Stone Culture in an exquisite way, and explore a new way to promote culture-industry integration.

The “Central Axis Seal” is reported to be made of a Laoling Shoushan stone, whose dimensions are 70cm×70cm× 210cm. According to the design plan, the face of the seal is carved with the five Chinese characters “Beijing Zhong Zhou Xian” (Beijing Central Axis); on the south of the seal is embossed with landmark gate towers in 15 heritage sites, in a vivid indication of the architectural style along the Beijing Central Axis; on the north of the seal is carved with a picture composed of 100 Chinese characters for “Fu” (happiness) to dovetail nicely with the traditional happiness culture and highlight Fujian features. (Text by Zhao Zhengyan, Photo by Yuan Hao)