Architecture of Beijing

In our visit to Beijing (capital of China) I immediately noticed an interesting architecture. There are three styles of architecture noticeable. First of all there’s the traditional architecture for example “the Gate of Heavenly Peace) Secondly there’s the “Sino-Sov” style, most of those buildings were built between the 1950s and the 1970s. Thirdly there’s a much more modern architectural form. Which is situated in Beijing Financial Street.

                                         

We visited the National Art Museum of China Beijing and I was very impressed just by the building alone. It’s a very original building as you can see in the picture below. The design of the NAMOC reflects on the Chinese culture and it’s a global significance for the 21^st Century. The architectural concept is based on uniting dualities; past and future, day and night, inside and outside,…

We also visited the Orange Cinemas. It was built on request of the Orange Sky Golden Harvest Entertainment Group, A legendary Asian cinema company. The opening of the cinema was in March 2011 so it’s a really new and modern building. It consists of 28 multiplexes and 223 auditoriums.

We also saw the National Stadium of Beijing. It’s one of the city’s most famous building. It lights up at night so it’s gorgeous to see. The stadium was the host of the opening and closing ceremony of the Olympic Games in 2008. The lattice design is influenced by the randomness of nature as well as the patterns found on traditional Chinese pottery. Another random fact but interesting to know is the roof weighs 45,000 tonnes and is made from steel. It’s almost hard to believe that something that weighs so much can keep on standing.

Those are just a few buildings we saw and visited but it’s safe to say that Beijing is an amazing city with a very interesting mix of cultures which reflects in their buildings. It’s definitely worth a visit, you won’t be disappointed.

Stephanie

sources:

- http://www.emporis.com/city/beijing-china/famous-buildings

- www.e-architect.co.uk/beijing/beijing_building.htm

- www.wikipedia.com