A bronze monument commemorating the 850th anniversary of Beijing's founding as the capital of the nation was unveiled on Saturday in the south of China's capital.

The unveiling, by Liu Qi, secretary of Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, and Wang Qishan, acting mayor of Beijing, was the first of 18 events to mark the anniversary.

The bronze monument is built on the ruins of the imperial palace of the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234) inside present-day Binhe (riverside) Park, Xuanwu District, in southern Beijing, with designs provided by the Contemporary Art Center of the Central Academy of Fine Arts.

The monument stands 12 meters high on a site of 760 square meters. The base is made of granite and supports four columns. Four bronze dragons facing east, west, south and north are erected on the base which carries an inscription written by Hou Renzhi, a well-known Chinese historian and geographer, about Beijing's history.

Beijing was founded in 1153 when the Jin Dynasty moved its capital to Yanjing, as Beijing was then known, and changed the city's name to "Zhongdu". Over time, Beijing has become one of the world's most historic and cultural cities.

(Xinhua News Agency September 21, 2003)