Beijing, China Travel Guide
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Beijing’s Modern Architecture
Modern buildings in Beijing
Overview: The 2008 Olympic Games trumpeted Beijing’s superlative architecture and the world over witnessed the news loud and clear. In light of the Olympics, Beijing has enlisted some of the most creative designers and architects to give Beijing an urban facelift. Beijing has constructed and erected some of the most futuristic and wild buildings. It starts from the ultra sleek ceilings at Beijing’s Capital International Airport to the iconic National Stadium known as the Bird’s Nest, which is hosting the 2008 Olympics ceremonies and main sporting events, to the bubbly cube of the Aquatics Center to the CCTV headquarters has been nicknamed “The Trouser Legs” for its ingenious structure and design. Some other notable architectural marvels include the National Centre for the Performing Arts, which is a bubble like building made of glass and titanium and nicknamed “The Egg”; and the Sanlitun Village, a complex with lodging, restaurants and more and mixing disparate themes.
Modern architecture in Beijing
The National Stadium and Aquatics Center are located in northern Beijing along the 4th Ring Road; the CCTV Tower, directly west of the Forbidden City along the 3rd Ring Road; the National Centre for the Performing Arts, off of Chang’an next to Tiananmen Square; Sanlitun Village, just shy of the 3rd Ring Road, east of the Forbidden Palace and near the Workers’ Gymnasium.