A timeless journey through capital's heart

Exhibition on Beijing's Central Axis highlights its history and relevance to today's society, Cheng Yuezhu reports.

Dimly bathed in a sea of blue light, the dark exhibition hall is dotted with stars and constellations, spinning and expanding, forming circular trails on the wall at the far end of the hall.

From the star trails emerge a simplified outline of central Beijing, and a ray of light beams down from the wall and runs through the hall, revealing an architectural model of the ancient capital on the gigantic table placed at the room's center.

With the solemn background music escalating, in an instant, the entire hall shifts from night to day, and then from spring to winter. Nuances of these changes are subtle and gradual, yet it is easy to tell what season it is from the hues of the cityscape.