An emperor moved his capital from a remote northeastern area to Beijing 850 years ago, now, 850 years later, people in the capital are facing a dilemma that many other cities face around the globe -- the need to safeguard the past while continuing to build the future.

Li Zhun, a senior expert with the Beijing Municipal Commission of Urban Planning, yesterday called for Beijing residents to think deeply about what kind of city they will leave to later generations, as many ancient treasures are at the risk of disappearing due to rampant destruction and urbanization.

"Our ancestors left us many of priceless assets, including numerous cultural relics. They are the best material record of our past and identity and should therefore be better protected," Li said at a history workshop to celebrate the 850th anniversary of Beijing first becoming the Chinese capital.

Beijing is one of the cradles of human civilization. Some half-a-million years ago, Peking Man lived in Zhoukoudian, in the southwestern suburbs of the city.

More than 3,000 years ago, a city gradually came into being in the area where is now Beijing located.

In later years, Beijing has served as a military centre to different imperial dynasties, and since the Liao and Jin dynasties (916-1234), Beijing has gradually turned into the political centre it is today.

A remarkable event took place in 1153, Wanyan Liang, Prince Hailing in the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234), moved the capital city from Shangjing (now the city of Acheng in Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province) to Yanjing (the old name of Beijing), and named it Zhongdu or "Central Capital."

At that time, Beijing began its history as the capital city of a dynasty, the reason Beijingers are celebrating the 850 anniversary between September and October this year.

Although Zhongdu only existed for a short period of around 60 years, it laid a solid foundation for the great future of Beijing, said Mei Ninghua, director of the Beijing Municipal Administrative Bureau of Cultural Relics.

"After that, changing through the 'Great Capital' Dadu of the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368) and the Beijing city of the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911), Beijing became the political centre for the whole country and a world-renowned historical and cultural city," said Mei.

Experts at yesterday's workshop called for stricter implementation of the Law on Cultural Relics Protection and relevant regulations and rules. Meanwhile, cultural relics protection should be extended to those units that have not yet been listed as relics, such as many siheyuan (quadrangles) in central Beijing, said Liu Xiaoshi, a senior expert with the urban planning commission.

(China Daily September 22, 2003)