Beijing Party chief Cai Qi visited the city central axis for the third time this year on Saturday and asked city officials to accelerate the application to place the area on the UNESCO list of world heritage sites.

"The city central axis is the soul of the ancient city of the capital and a live carrier of Chinese traditional culture," he said. "It's a unique historic heritage and we should protect it well."

Meanwhile, he stressed that Beijing should strengthen international communication and research on the sector to ensure the application's success and protection of the city central axis.

During a forum held a few days ago that focused on the application, many experts offered suggestions for the area's protection and the application.

Cai said those suggestions are valuable and authorities should use of those ideas well and draft a five-year plan soon.