It is about 132 meters high, made up of 7 pyramids structure, large part of its surface is glass, the whole tower looks very exquisite and ingeniously, so in Chinese, it is also named as “Ling Long Tower”.

This building was hand over into operation since July 1st of 2008.

Download this Kmz file from here.

View Larger Map

Related Posts

• 19th of Jan. 2009 (0)
• Olympic Park (0)
• Chinese Ethnic Museum (0)
• China World Trade Center Phase III (2)
• Yin Tai Centre (0)
• Weightlifting – B.U.A.A. (0)
• Volleyball – B.I.T. Gymnasium (0)
• Beach Volleyball – Chaoyang Park (0)
• Football – Worker’s stadium (0)
• Volleyball – National indoor Stadium (0)

The Project is bounded on the east by the East Third Ring Road, the Guang Hua Electrical and Mechanical Building on the west, China World Tower 2 on the south, and the southern curb of Guang Hua Road on the north.

CWTC Phase 3 Project, 330 meters high, with a total gross floor area of approximately 540,000 square meters, will be developed in two stages.

Stage A of CWTC Phase 3 Project will consist of a Mega Tower containing a super 5-star hotel and offices, a 1,600-seat grand ballroom, a modern shopping mall with cineplex and basement car parks.

Download the kmz file here.

View Larger Map

Related Posts

• Jingyuan, Image Base (0)
• Beijing West CBD to be developped (0)
• Ling Long Tower (2)
• Jian Wai Soho (0)
• Yin Tai Centre (0)
• Bell and Drum Towers (0)
• Jan 14, 2008, Huaren Tower (0)
• May 31th, Corner Tower of Old Peking (0)

The project was designed by John Portman and is an outstanding landmark along Beijing’s Chang’an Avenue.

Download the kmz file here.

Website for Yintai Centre.

View Larger Map

Related Posts

• Beijing Morgan 7 Star Plaza (0)
• Jan 14, 2008, Huaren Tower (0)
• Ling Long Tower (2)
• China World Trade Center Phase III (2)
• Jian Wai Soho (0)
• Bell and Drum Towers (0)
• May 31th, Corner Tower of Old Peking (0)
• Jan.31, Highrise Buildings (0)

Drum Tower was initially built in 1272 during the Yuan Dynasty, was rebuilt in 1297 during the Yuan Dynasty and in 1420 and 1539, during the Ming Dynasty. The two-story structure was made of wood with a height of 47 meters. On its second floor there originally were 25 drums. Among them, there were one big drum and 24 smaller drums. Now, only the big drum is left. The drum is beaten four times a day, for 15 minutes at a time. There are many shops on the first floor where you can buy what you need.

Bell Tower made of bricks and stone, is 48 meters high and also is two stories. On all four sides of the tower there is an arched door on the first floor. A stairway leads to the second floor. On the second floor there is also an arched door with a stone window framing each side. Right in the middle of the second floor is the big copper bell that tells the time. It is hung on a wooden framework. It is the heaviest bell in China. There is a round wooden peg that knocks the bell.

Bells and drums were musical instruments in ancient China. Later they were used to tell time and became watches for the officials and common people as well.

At the very beginning in the Ming Dynasty, the bell and drum were beaten together both during the day and nighttime. When Qian Long was emperor in the Qing Dynasty, the bell and drum were beaten together only two times at night by two workers who were assigned to beat the bell and drum respectively. First the drum and then the bell was beaten.

At seven o’clock in the evening, the drum was beaten followed by the bell to inform people it was time to go to sleep. At nine o’clock, eleven o’clock, as well as one and three o’clock in the morning, only the bell was beaten to avoid awakening the sleeping people. At five o’clock in the morning, again the drum was beaten followed by the bell to inform people to rise. Each time this ritual of the drum being beaten occurred 108 times, 18 times very rapidly and 18 times very slowly. The bell was beaten following the same method.

Although the Bell and Drum Towers have lost their function of telling time (The function was completely lost in 1924 when the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty was forced to leave the Forbidden City), you can still hear the rings of these ancient timepieces even now.

View Larger Map

A bird view to the south of Drum Tower

To the west of the Drum Tower, you can see the old houses in the narrow alleys.

To the east, from the Drum Tower.

Related Posts

• Axis Tour of Beijing (0)
• Night photos around Shishahai Lake (0)
• When Mr.Right meets Mrs. Right (0)
• Ling Long Tower (2)
• China World Trade Center Phase III (2)
• Yin Tai Centre (0)
• Jan 14, 2008, Huaren Tower (0)
• Midnight of June 9th, World Cup (0)
• May 31th, Corner Tower of Old Peking (0)

Today is very foggy, so cannot see clearly far away…

Two big buildings that you can see stand above others, one is the CCTV Tower on the left, and another is going to be an office building

This is the Jianguomen Flyover, by the time I was taking this picture, the time was about 1:00 PM, so you cannot see too much traffic.

The following 2 pictures were taken towards the west, the old part of the city, where you can see the old one-floor traditional Peking’s Siheyuan (courtyard) building, with some big buildings around.

Related Posts

• Yin Tai Centre (0)
• Beijing Subway (0)
• Ling Long Tower (2)
• China World Trade Center Phase III (2)
• Beijing Morgan 7 Star Plaza (0)
• The Ancient Beijing Observatory (0)
• Bell and Drum Towers (0)
• Lama Temple, Yonghe Temple (0)
• Oct 19, Dongsishitiao Street (0)
• July 13, traffic police officier (0)

Here is the corner tower of old Peking, now there has only about 2 KMs city wall kept.

Related Posts

• Ling Long Tower (2)
• China World Trade Center Phase III (2)
• Yin Tai Centre (0)
• Bell and Drum Towers (0)
• Jan 14, 2008, Huaren Tower (0)