World Cultural Heritage: The Management of the Forbidden City

The purpose of the study is to evaluate the system of dependencies and contradictions between the Forbidden City as an object of cultural heritage and the transformation of the historic environment. The research methodology is based on a comparative study of literary sources and quantitative and qualitative data analysis using the example of the study of the Forbidden City. Based on the analysis of existing concepts, a model for managing the changing historical environment within the framework of the sustainable development of the Forbidden City has been developed. According to the study, the Forbidden City today is between two complex processes related to preserving and transforming the historic environment. In recent years there has been an increase in the number of museums and collections of cultural relics in the urban historical environment of Beijing, which directly contributes to the growth of tourist activity. This model should be based on the interaction of innovative digitalisation tools, intelligent solutions in urban planning, a rational approach and cultural tourism. In practice, this will allow for the maintenance of a more reasonable population density and the rational location of industrial and economic facilities and preserve the traditional aesthetic.