The Forbidden City, also called Zijin Cheng, is a 72-hectare palace complex in Beijing that was used by the emperors of China from A.D. 1420 to 1911. The Forbidden City served as a fortress to protect the emperor and his family. The complex consists of about 980 buildings, mainly in yellow and red colors, surrounded by a wall 10 meters high. The well guarded palace is surrounded also by a moat 3,800 metres long and 52 metres wide. Intruders were discouraged by guards in watchtowers with bow and arrows.

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National Centre for the Performing Arts is located in the heart of Beijing, neighboring the Great Hall of the People and Tian’anmen Square and covering 118.9 million square meters, and its total construction area is 217.5 million square meters, including nearly 46.6 million square meters underground garage. The NCPA, also known as the National Grand Theatre, is a surreal location in which to catch a show. Technically, it’s an ellipsoid dome of titanium and glass surrounded by an artificial lake and vast expanse of green space, but the Egg or Water drop building is much easier on the tongue.

credit: La Priz 

credit: La Priz 

credit: das farbamt

credit: das farbamt

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credit:  mklapper

credit:  mklapper

credit:  Jorge Lascar

Zaha Hadid`s buildings already became the contemporary heritage that attracts not only architectural audiences and developers but mainstream media and regular tourists as well. The new mixed-use development comprises four elliptical towers, each rising 15 stories and clad in panels of glass and reflective aluminum. A network of platforms and bridges connects the structures, linking them in one seemingly continuous coil. All together the buildings contain nearly 3.6 million square feet of space—the biggest project yet for the famously big thinker. The great interior courts of the project are a reflection of traditional Chinese architecture where courtyards create an internal world of continuous open spaces.

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