At a meeting on cultural heritage held in Beijing Wednesday, Mei Ninghua, director of the municipal bureau of cultural heritage, said the plan was an important part of the project to conserve Beijing as an historic cultural city.

The detailed measures include placing six key cultural heritage building groups under total protection, launching an experimental project to improve living conditions in some residential compounds of historic importance, and demolishing buildings which affected the overall view of the imperial city.

The imperial city, first built in 1417, is now the largest and the most complete one existing. Covering 6.8 sq km of palaces, gardens and temples with the Forbidden City at the center, it reflects the bygone days of imperial China and is of great historic importance.

(Xinhua News Agency February 27, 2003)