The 2024 "East of the Forbidden City" Ancient Architecture Art Season opened on the evening of the 23rd at Zhongshan Park Yuyuan. From now until the end of the year, more than 10 small yet exquisite, elegant and beautiful high-quality art activities will be held along the central axis of Zhongshan Park, Temple of Heaven, Temple of Heaven, Bell and Drum Towers and other ancient buildings, including ancient building performances, ancient building art education, and ancient building music seasons, taking people to appreciate the charm of the integration of ancient architecture and art. At the opening ceremony, the sponsor awarded the first "Cultural Relics Guardian (Group)" honorary certificate in Dongcheng District of Beijing for their outstanding contributions in the field of cultural relics protection and utilization, including Han Dongdong, a cultural relics volunteer on the central axis, Wu Guanli, the head of Jingcheng Group's "Craftsman Camp" ingenuity cultural park, Li Yifei, the leader of the "Red Boat Piloting Four Popularization" volunteer team of Renmin University of China, Yingda Trust's "Wenrun East City" charitable trust project team and Xinwei Imagination Yandun digital restoration project team. The event also released the list of cities with profound historical and cultural heritage, including Qinhuangdao in Hebei, Chengde in Hebei, Yuncheng in Shanxi, Nantong in Jiangsu, Chizhou in Anhui, Mount Huangshan in Anhui, Zhaotong in Yunnan, Lhasa in Xizang, Hohhot in Inner Mongolia, and Deyang in Sichuan, aiming to promote academic interconnection, resource sharing, achievement sharing, and development through cross regional cooperation, tap the multiple values of cultural relics and heritage, and build a national platform for cooperation in ancient architecture, culture, and tourism. It is reported that this art season has been revitalized and upgraded based on the two ancient architecture music seasons in 2021 and 2023, introducing diverse art categories with the theme of "endowing ancient architecture with elegance, gifting time with glory". The event focuses on the central axis line, selecting Zhongshan Park, Temple of Heaven, Temple of Heaven, Bell and Drum Tower, etc., radiating to ancient buildings with unique historical and cultural value such as Cao Xueqin's former residence, Qi Baishi's old residence, Ancient Observatory, Hong'en Temple, etc., and extending to capital universities such as Communication University of China and Beijing Jianzhu University. From September to the end of the year, themed performances such as "Dreaming Back to the Red Chamber", "Harmony between Heaven and Earth", "Evening Drums and Morning Bell", as well as themed art education activities such as "When History Meets Aesthetics", "When the Night Sky Shines with Stars", and "The Golden Roof on the Central Axis" will be held. More than 10 small but exquisite, elegant and beautiful high-quality art performances and cultural popularization activities will be held, covering a variety of art forms such as folk music, dance, recitation, art education lectures, etc., bringing together artists, experts and scholars from different art disciplines such as music, dance, astronomy, painting, architecture, etc. This year's Ancient Architecture Art Season has also added a section called "Ancient Architecture Campus Tour of Ancient Architecture Art Education", inviting relevant cultural relics colleges and clubs from well-known universities in Beijing to popularize cultural relics and architecture knowledge to primary and secondary school students. At the same time, a special cultural and creative package titled "Searching for the Beauty of Ancient Architecture" has been launched, showcasing exquisite themed cultural and creative works such as the Bell and Drum Tower, Hong'en Temple, Cao Xueqin's Former Residence Memorial Hall, Ming City Wall Ruins, and Jiade Art Center, attracting public participation. The 2024 "East of the Forbidden City" Ancient Architecture Art Festival is guided by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Cultural Heritage, the Dongcheng District Committee of the Communist Party of China, and the Dongcheng District People's Government, and hosted by the Propaganda Department of the Dongcheng District Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Dongcheng District Bureau of Culture and Tourism. (New Society)