Top 10 buildings on Chang'an Avenue
Chang'an Avenue, a major thoroughfare in China's capital city of Beijing, is an open-air live museum of architecture. Known as the east-west central axis of the city, the historic avenue extends nearly 45 kilometers from Tongzhou District in the east to Shijingshan District in the west.
The core section of Chang'an Avenue stretches 6.7 kilometers from Fuxingmen on the Western 2nd Ring Road to Jianguomen on the Eastern 2nd Ring Road. Along this section, there are more than 50 important and internationally renowned structures.
Following are the top 10 classic buildings built after 1949 along the Chang'an Avenue.
Top 10: Beijing International Hotel
The hotel opened for business in December 1987, and is located in the central section of the Chang'an Avenue. This five-star rated hotel has 916 elegant guest rooms for business, family and leisure travellers. The 104-meter, 29-story ivory-white building resembles unfolding arms welcoming guests. The Starlight Revolving Restaurant on the top floor provides a "panoramic night view of Chang'an Avenue".
Top 9: Minzu Hotel
Located on the West Chang'an Avenue, Minzu Hotel is one of the "Ten Great Constructions" completed and opened in 1959 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China. It's the first highrise to use the precast concrete frame structure in Beijing. The 10-story hotel has a total of 507 rooms, offering business travelers up-scale services. For more than 40 years, it has accommodated great numbers of high-level foreign delegations. It's still a unique and eye-drawing building on the Chang'an Avenue.
Travel Tips:
Getting There: Take Subway Line 2 to Fuxingmen Station
Top 8: The Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution
Located on the West Chang'an Avenue, the Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution is listed as one of the top 10 military museums in the world. The museum is the only large-scaled comprehensive military museum in China, covering an area of over 93,000 square meters. It consists of two four-story wings and a seven-story main building topped with the emblem of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. The museum houses more than 120,000 military antiques covering ancient, modern and contemporary times, displaying the military history of the country in a vivid and hollistic way.
Travel Tips:
Open Hours: April 1-November 1: 8:30 -17:30; November 2-March 31: 8:30 -17:00
Admission: Free
Getting There: Take Subway Line 1 to the Military Museum Station, or take Bus No. 1, 21, 68, 308, 320, 337, 617, 728 or 802 to the Military Museum Stop.
Top 7: Beijing Henderson Center
Completed in 1997, the Beijing Henderson Center is a mixed-use complex located at the Jianguomennei Street and opposite the Beijing International Hotel on the north of the street. The complex includes a cluster of buildings ranging from 9 to 21 stories, covering an area of 30,000 square meters. It was ranked as one of the top 10 great constructions of Beijing in the 1990's. The complex blends the classical and modern elements, and harmoniously integrates with the surrounding environment. The office building in the northeastern section is also designed to carry a bell tower.
Travel Tips:
Getting There: Take Subway Line 1 to Jianguomen Station, or Line 2 to Beijing Station
Top 6: Ocean Plaza
Completed in 1999, the Ocean Plaza is a famed 5A intelligent office building located at the West Chang'an Avenue. The northern facade of the building is shaped like a huge ship sailing under a blue sky. The point-supported interlocking glass curtain wall helps make the building unique and magnificent. This upscale office building has lured in many of the global top 500 companies. As a beautiful landmark on the Chang'an Avenue, the 67-meter, 17-story building appears frequently in films and TV dramas. Most notably, its repeated appearance in the promotional videos for Beijing's bid for the 2008 Olympics by Zhang Yimou has unveiled the metropolis' modern look to the international community.
Travel Tips:
Getting There: Take Subway Line 1 to Fuxingmen Station
Top 5: Headquarter Building of the Bank of China
Located at the Fuxingmennei Street, the headquarter building of the Bank of China is the financial center of Beijing, and China. Completed in 1999, the 55-meter, 16-story building covers an area of more than 170,000 square meters. It is shaped like a big and exquisite jewelry case, and has become one of the landmarks of the Chang’an Avenue.
Travel Tips:
Getting There: Take Subway Line 4 to Xidan Station
Top 4: New Capital Museum
Located at the Fuxingmenwai Street, the western extension of the Chang'an Avenue, the new Capital Museum is a large comprehensive museum and one of the landmarks of the Chang'an Avenue. Opened in 2006, the 5-story museum has a construction area of more than 63,000 square meters. The consutrction integrates ancient and modern architectural elments. Large amounts of bronze, timber and stone are used to highlight the sense of Old Beijing. The protruding wall of the elliptical Bronze Exibition Hall that can be seen from outside the museum emboides the unearthing of historical relics. There are more than 5,622 culture relics on display, which mainly include the museum's collections from past years and historical relics unearthed in Beijing.
Travel Tips:
Open Hours: 9:00 to 17:00 (Closed on Monday)
Admission: Free (Reservations required)
Reservation: By phone via +86-010-6339 3339 between 9:00-17:00 or by online at http://www.capitalmuseum.org.cn/zjsb/pwfw.htm (Chinese)
Getting There: Take Bus No. 1, 4, 37 or 52 to Gonghuidalou; No. 26, 319, 650, 708, 717, 727 or 937 to Baiyunlu; or take Subway Line 1 to Muxidi Station.
Top 3: China World Trade Center
The China World Trade Center is a high-end mixed-use highrise complex for office, business, hotels and entertainment space in the central business district of Beijing. Originally opened in 1990, the complex mainly consists of CWTC I, CWTC II, CWTC III, CWTC West Building and CWTC East Building. Completed in 2009, the 330-m, 74-story CWTC III, the third phase of the complex, has become the highest skyscraper in Beijing.
Travel Tips:
Getting There: Take Subway Line 10 or Line 1 to Guomao Station
Top 2: The Cultural Palace of Nationalities
Completed and opened in October 1959 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the People's Republic of China, the Cultural Palace of Nationalities is located on the north side of the West Chang'an Avenue. It's a high-rise featuring the unique elements of traditional Chinese architecture. The 67-meter, 13-story main building is surrounded by side wings on the east and west. Inside, there are five exhibition halls covering 3,400 square meters. It has an abundant collection of more than 50,000 exquisite ethnic cultural relics, including costumes, coins and currency, musical instruments, handicrafts and religious articles, fully demonstrating the colorful culture of different ethnic groups. The building was listed as one of the architectural treasures of China in the 20th century by the International Union of Architects (IUA) in 1999.
Travel Tips:
Open Hours: 9:00-16:00
Admission: Free (Valid identification required)
Getting There: Take Bus No. 7, 10, 15 or 61 to Minzu Wenhua Gong Stop, or take Subway Line 1 to Xidan Station
Top 1: Great Hall of the People
Located at the western edge of Tian'anmen Square, the solemn and magnificent Great Hall of the People is one of the landmark buildings of Beijing. It was completed in September 1959 within less than one year to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the People's Republic of China. The hall covers a construction area of more than 170, 000 square meters, even larger than the Forbidden City. It's used mainly for the country's legislative and political conferences, as well as ceremonial events and concerts. It’s open to the public when there are no political conferences or events.
The hall includes the central, northern and southern sections. The central section mostly consists of the 10,000-seat Great Auditorium, the Main Auditorium, the Congress Hall, the Central Hall and other main halls. The State Banquet Hall lies in the northern section while the southern section houses the office building of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China.
Travel Tips:
Admission: 30 yuan for adults, 15 yuan for students
Getting There: Take Subway Line 1 to Tian’anmen West Station, or Subway Line 2 to Qianmen Station
