Ancient cities in China were ceremonial centers rather than commercial centers. They were a symbolic representation of the realm (the world). While the Emperor of Heaven ruled from the center of the cosmos, the human emperor or the Son of Heaven ruled from the center of the city, providing a link between the earthly and heavenly worlds. When I read the article "The ancient Chinese city as a cosmological symbol", I found the concept of axis mundi fascinating because it reminds me of Leonardo da Vinci's well known diagram of "Virtuvian Man."
