Book surveys Beijing's ancient architecture

Beijing's axis ranks among the world's most splendid cityscapes.

It's crowded with ancient architectural marvels, including the Palace Museum (the Forbidden City), the Temple of Heaven and Jingshan Park.

This prompted the Society for the Study of Chinese Architecture, which was active from 1930 to 1946, to launch a four-year survey of these buildings in 1941, in case they were destroyed during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1937-45).