Developmental History of Beijing City's Axis and Its Influence on Urban Structure

Beijing city's axis came into being in Yuan Dynasty and was developed in Ming and Qing Dynasty.The Asian Games and the Olympic Games can be regarded as the turning point for the Beijing city's axis to be extended northward.Urban Design Plan for Beijing City's Axis authorized in 2003 claimed Beijing city's axis will be extended southward to Nanyuan.Beijing city's axis consists of three parts including the north axis,the traditional axis,and the south axis.Their development has profound and significant impacts on Beijing's urban spatial structure.The authors propose that Beijing city should change the single center into multi-centers relying on the axis,and change the multi-level ring structure of urban traffic layout into a new network pattern.