Beijing from above

hauchyi · #1 Posted **Oct 13, 2011, 5:33 AM**

All pictures are mine. They were taken during the Oct 1 holiday (China's national day).

I've been living in Beijing for more than a year now. This city is definitely the most pleasant Chinese city I've ever stayed.

Forbidden Palace, at the center of the city, taken from the World Trade Center of China, with the west side of the city dominated by the Beijing TV Tower. The lake by the forbidden city is the headquarter of the communist party..

The south side:
Altar of Heaven really is not that big a structure. I was disappointed standing in front of it... The dome behind the altar of heaven is Beijing South Station where all high-speed rail trains stop.

South-west side with the view of TianAnMen Square in the upper half of the picture: The avenue is ChangAn Avenue, the main east-west fair thoroughfare. Beijing main station is in the center of the picture. There are at least four main railway stations in the city going to every part of the country.

The north-west side:
The lake in the picture is the famous Houhai (Rear Sea). The two Chinese towers in the middle are the bell and drum towers from left to right (north to south). As you can see, the old Beijing is literally surrounded on four sides by a new city. If you look closely, the building in the far end marks the tallest building in Haidian, where the summer palace is. It is about 15km (and 30min on subway) from the center.

North-east side:
The most trendy part of BJ.. Sanlitun and worker's stadium. It feels more like a China town with foreigners (mostly White guys) hanging out everywhere.

Altar of Sun (Ritan) park: Many countries have their embassies by the Ritan park. The yellow building with a swimming pool is UK's embassy.

The shadow of the WTC of China pointing at Ritan Park.

More to come..

Austinlee · #2 Posted **Oct 13, 2011, 6:50 AM**

Wonderful pics. These finally give a feel for how massive Beijing is.

stepper77 · #3 Posted **Oct 13, 2011, 6:09 PM**

I have never seen Beijing from this vantage point. Nice photos, thanks!

Dylan Leblanc · #4 Posted **Oct 13, 2011, 9:07 PM**

nice. I always love seeing aerial pics.

sunbeach · #5 Posted **Oct 13, 2011, 9:11 PM**

Another gigantic behemoth. Nice photos. I'm assuming you took this photo from one or more tall buildings or maybe a helicopter? And from what i see in this photo, looks like the Chinese took some time in designing their structures, translation: the Beijing buildings look nice.

I'm still young,healthy but on a 'budget' however this is another city I'd like to visit before i die. Speaking of death, I've been told Beijing is heavy in air pollution...is that true?

peanut gallery · #6 Posted **Oct 13, 2011, 10:05 PM**

Cool shots. Looks quite different from Shanghai or HK, the only two Chinese cities I've been to.

Ayreonaut · #7 Posted **Oct 13, 2011, 10:11 PM**

Great shots. Thanks for the comments, gives me some idea of what I'm looking at.

sterlippo1 · #8 Posted **Oct 13, 2011, 10:15 PM**

fascinating...................and it looks like a beautiful city

RobertWalpole · #9 Posted **Oct 13, 2011, 11:56 PM**

Superb!

LSyd · #10 Posted **Oct 14, 2011, 12:05 AM**

thanks for the interesting pics. IMO, it could use more "colorful" buildings.

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hauchyi · #11 Posted **Oct 14, 2011, 1:31 AM**

In case you are wondering, I took all these pictures in the WTC of China (on the 74th floor in a Shangri La hotel room). It is currently the tallest building in Beijing and locates in the CBD area of Beijing.

CCTV - China's official TV station that young people rare watch. The shorter building under construction is the famously torched Oriental Mandarin Hotel that was burned down during a firework show during one of the Chinese New Year.

Government architects concluded that the fire only torched the interior deco, and the structure is still safe. As a result, only the facade needs to be replaced. Living in China for too long, I don't think I will ever stay in that hotel when it opens.

CCTV at night:

The CBD Area: This is where most foreign companies locate. There are two important business districts in Beijing. Financial street to the west (you can see it in one of the above pictures right in front of the TV Tower). CBD to the east.

As you can see, CBD is still bustling with all the new constructions.

hauchyi · #12 Posted **Oct 14, 2011, 1:33 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by LSyd

thanks for the interesting pics. IMO, it could use more "colorful" buildings.

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I completely agree.. Beijing for the most part was built to impress by some silly communist officials that didn't really know what look good.

hauchyi · #13 Posted **Oct 14, 2011, 1:36 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by peanut gallery

Cool shots. Looks quite different from Shanghai or HK, the only two Chinese cities I've been to.

Ya, Beijing is different from SH or HK. Some are good, as it's not as tight or "in your face" everything. Some are bad, because everything is so far away, that I think trying to be pedestrian-friendly must be the last thing they have in mind. For example, most north and south entrances of subway stations are only connected on the platform level. It can't be used as a way to cross the insanely wide and exposed BJ avenues.

But overall it is the most pleasant Chinese cities I've stayed. I really love this city.

photoLith · #14 Posted **Oct 14, 2011, 2:10 AM**

I miss Beijing so much, lived there in 2007, Im sure its changed greatly since then.

Kilgore Trout · #15 Posted **Oct 14, 2011, 4:55 AM**

thanks for these photos. they remind me i have a bunch of year-old beijing shots that i need to get around to posting.

i really did not expect to like beijing, so i was very much surprised when i visited. the old hutong neighbourhoods inside the second ring road are fascinating to wander around and much more expansive than i assumed. and while the newer parts of the city are vast and built on a gigantic scale, they don't feel oppressive, partly because there are so many human-scaled elements: small shops, street hawkers, tree-lined promenades, small alleys between the mega-blocks.

i think i also like it because, after having lived in hong kong for awhile now, i have come to realize there is some intangible quality about northern cities that i really enjoy. maybe it's the light.

Travis007 · #16 Posted **Oct 14, 2011, 12:59 PM**

Impressive aerial, density photos. Beijing has an under-recognized skyline and is quite the extensive metropolis.

sunbeach · #17 Posted **Oct 14, 2011, 1:36 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by hauchyi

I completely agree.. Beijing for the most part was built to impress by some silly communist officials that didn't really know what look good.

Perhaps I need to travel some more and live in Beijing but looking at the photos , some of those skyscrapers are just the type you see in science fiction films. I don't think there's anything like it in the U.S....maybe, Disneyland.

MolsonExport · #18 Posted **Oct 14, 2011, 3:54 PM**

Nice shots. How often is the air that clear? Reminds me a bit of Seoul, which I visited in 2006.

pablosan · #19 Posted **Oct 14, 2011, 11:04 PM**

Wow! What an impressive vantage point.

hauchyi · #20 Posted **Oct 15, 2011, 4:12 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

Nice shots. How often is the air that clear? Reminds me a bit of Seoul, which I visited in 2006.

In fall, it is typically blue. Spring is the worst in terms of air quality..