Cityscape recommendations for Beijing

Tag : construction and building
If you are coming to Beijing for the Olympics, Xinhua News Agencystaff provides these tips for finding the capital's most impressivespots.

China Central Television headquarter building


Tired of regular-shaped skyscrapers? The breathtaking artisticarchitecture of the new China Central Television headquarter willleave you with no regrets. Currently under construction, thebuilding stands in the center of the central business district inBeijing's Chaoyang District.

The impressive structure broke ground in 2004 and is scheduled tobe complete before the Olympics. It stands 234 meters high with 51floors.

Dutchman Rem Koolhaas and German Ole Scheeren provided the unusualdesign for the architecture. The main building is not a traditionaltower, but instead a continuous loop of five horizontal andvertical sections covering 381,300 square meters of floor space,creating an irregular grid on the building's facade with an opencenter.

The L-shaped high-rise construction of the building is consideredto be a structural challenge, especially because it is in a seismiczone. It has acquired nicknames such as "Twisted donut"and "The Pants" by locals.

In many ways, the building is truly "the most." Its shapemakes it the most radically shaped building designed so far. Forarchitects and builders, it has been the most technicallychallenging project they have ever worked on. In addition, manypeople believe it is the most expensive office building in theworld for its 800 million-U.S. dollar budget.

China Millennium Monument-Great Altar


This wonderful structure was built to welcome in the newmillennium. It is nestled in the south of Yuyuantan Park with theMilitary Museum in the east and the current China CentralTelevision headquarter in the west.

Covering an area of 4.5 hectares, it incorporates both the spiritof traditional Chinese culture and the art of modern design. At itssouth entrance is the Plaza of Holy Fire.

The plaza has an area of 960 square meters, representing China'svast territory of 9.6 million square km. The fire originated at thesite of Peking man at Zhoukoudian, Beijing, and is fed by naturalgas. The eternal flame, rising some 45 cm, is a token of theunceasing creativity of the Chinese civilization.

Two streams of water flow down the steps along the eastern andwestern sides of the plaza, suggesting the Yellow and Yangtzerivers.

Walking along the plaza, you will see a 270-meter-long bronzetunnel that has inscriptions on its walls with a time-line thatdates from when humans first appeared.

There are also other attractions that are appealing in aworld-class large screen projection hall, an exhibition hall withstatues of famous figures from past dynasties, an exhibition wallfor 56 nationalities and a large open-air stage for liveperformances.

Terminal 3 -- Beijing Capital International Airport


The new Terminal Three (T3) at the Beijing Capital InternationalAirport is stunning for visitors and locals alike not only for itssheer size but by its enormous "galactic" ceiling andconvenient modern facilities.

The dragon-shaped building, the largest air terminal in the world,covers a floor area of 98.6 hectares -- equal to the size of around170 soccer pitches. Its opening earlier this year upgraded theairport's capacity from 35 million to 76 million passengers,sufficient to handle the estimated 60 million passengers during theGames period.

The semi-transparent ceiling is the highlight of T3 as itguarantees enough light and is energy-saving as well. The skylightsresemble the scales of a giant dragon.

"Once inside, the immaculate floor reflects the space-ageceiling, which gives the impression of a star-lit sky," aforeign journalist commented.

Designed by renowned British architect Norman Foster, the moderninternational terminal incorporates several Chinese characteristicsto make sure passengers know they are in China as soon as gettingoff a flight.

Foster, who redesigned Berlin's Reichstag, used the Chineseauspicious color of red and gold as the color scheme. Thefour-dragon sculpture of the symbolic Chinese bracelet-like sphereused in ancient China to forecast earthquakes and models of theancient Suzhou gardens can also be experienced inside the building.

T3 is packed with shops selling all kinds of things ranging frominternational brands to Beijing local products. Altogether, thereare 64 restaurants providing various dining options. These includethe cuisine of different countries and fast food such as McDonald'sand Burger King.

Despite its enormous size, passengers could hardly get lost inside.Along with plentiful directory signs, the ceiling can also provideclues for all the steel tubes overhead are in a north-southdirection. Different colors of the ceiling also inform passengerswhich area they are in.

National Center for the Performing Arts


The National Center for the Performing Arts is an opera houselocated in downtown Beijing. It exterior is a titanium glassellipsoidal dome surrounded by a man-made lake. The 46-meter-highglass dome ranges from 144 meters in the north-south direction and212 meters east-west. Some people say it looks like an egg floatingin water; therefore it is nicknamed "The Egg." It hasserved as an iconic architecture of Beijing since its 2007completion.

Created by French designer Paul Andreu, the center lies next to theForbidden City and to the west of Tian'anmen Square. Its futuristicstyle is especially eye-catching among the traditional Chinesearchitecture.

Around the center is a 35,500-square-meter lake, trees and lawnsdesigned to make it complement the red walls of the nearby ancientbuildings and merge the futuristic architecture into thetraditional Chinese environment.

The glass of the dome can change its hue according to the directionof the sunshine.

Inside the "egg," there are three main performance halls,namely the Opera House, Concert Hall and Theater Hall. These canseat 2,398, 2,019, and 1,035 people respectively.

The structure's glass ceiling baths the dazzling colored marblefloor in sunlight. The interior walls are decorated with Brazilianrosewood. Visitors have to walk across a gorgeous 80-meter-longunderwater corridor to enter the grand hall.

The center also hosts a variety of auxiliary facilities, includingan exhibition gallery, souvenir shops and cafes. It's easy toaccess by public transport. Take subway line one to Tian'anmen Weststation and you will get there through Exit C.