hkskyline's 2024 in BEIJING

[hkskyline]

Yuan Ming Yuan, or the Old Summer Palace, was dubbed the "Versailles of the East". Spread across 350 hectares of landscaped gardens, it was a set of 5 residences for the Qing rulers, with construction starting in the early 18th century. Each residence has its own building, artificial lakes, and water systems, meant to become a miniature model of the lands under the emperor's rule. There were also European-style buildings as well with stone facades built over Chinese wood frames that were designed by Jesuit missionaries.

Today, it lies in ruins, ransacked, looted, then burned to the ground by Anglo-French forces during the Second Opium War in retribution for several negotiators being killed while persuading for a Chinese surrender. Many stolen artworks have made their way to collections in Europe, and occasionally at auction houses.

Let's start at the entrance and the long walk to the interesting parts of the vast park.























A scale model shows just how big this place is.









More photos : http://www.globalphotos.org/beijing.htm

[ColDayMan]

Incredible.

[geomorph]

I think an 'N' scale train should circle the model!

[hkskyline]

The Xiyanglou (Western building) area was built during the Qianlong era around 1747 with a number of buildings and fountains with baroque and rococo architecture from Italian, French, and Czech designers.























More photos : http://www.globalphotos.org/beijing.htm

[RHINO]

Beautiful work sir.

[Kilgore Trout]

Looking forward to more.

I haven't been to Beijing since 2015 but I had been many times in the years leading up to that. How is compared to then? Is the pollution better? I remember having remarkably clear and crisp days, then a new weather front would blow in and the pollution would be terrible in ways that are hard to describe. One time we were staying in an old hutong inn and the smog was seeping in under the doors so that the whole hotel room was in a bit of a haze.

[hkskyline]

Originally Posted by Kilgore Trout

Looking forward to more.

I haven't been to Beijing since 2015 but I had been many times in the years leading up to that. How is compared to then? Is the pollution better? I remember having remarkably clear and crisp days, then a new weather front would blow in and the pollution would be terrible in ways that are hard to describe. One time we were staying in an old hutong inn and the smog was seeping in under the doors so that the whole hotel room was in a bit of a haze.

Seems the crazy smoggy days are gone but traffic remains heavy. There are a lot more subway lines so getting around has gotten easier. The city has sprawled out even more and still remains a bit cold with wide boulevards and imposing spaces.

[hkskyline]

Beijing's 2nd international airport, Daxing, opened in September 2019 south of the city after almost 5 years of construction. This was coincided with the closure of Nanyuan Airport, which was China's first airport when it opened in 1910.

Designed by Zaha Hadid, this new $11.2 billion facility was meant to relieve congestion at the main Capital airport. With a 700,000 sq m starfish-shaped terminal building and 4 runways, it will have a capacity of 72 million passengers by 2025, although it currently serves mostly domestic flights. The terminal building is the largest in the world at the size of 98 football fields.

Initially, it was only used by a low-cost airline, China United Airlines, but has since expanded with a few international airlines, such as Qatar, Hong Kong Express, and Etihad. In 2023, over 39 million passengers used this airport.













































More photos : Beijing Photo Gallery

[hkskyline]

Beijing's Muslim quarter is located southwest of the Forbidden City and mainly comprises the Hui minority. The community is about 300,000 strong in the city, with Muslim restaurants and the largest mosque centred around Niu Jie (Cow Street), named after the delicious beef dishes that the Muslim community made.

The Hui are different from the other Muslim groups in Xinjiang, who speak a Turkic language and are not racially Han. Descended from Middle East traders who arrived in China via the Silk Road and marrying local women, their community is spread throughout the country today, even though they have their own dedicated autonomous region in Ningxia.































More photos : Beijing Photo Gallery

[destroycreate]

Great set. I went to China in 2008 and really enjoyed Beijing a lot, I think it ended up being my favorite compared to Shanghai and Hong Kong. I found it to be an attractive city. What shocked my best friend and I was how autocentric/unwalkable a lot of parts were though. Extremely long blocks, huge, wide streets and just colossal scale of everything.

Nice to see the pics of the airport - it was brand spaking new at the time and still looks impressive.