Visiting museums, attending performances at theaters, and learning special skills at cultural centers have become increasingly popular ways of life. As material well-being improves, people crave a higher quality cultural life.

In the spring, in the Urban Central Green Forest Park in Beijing Municipal Administrative Center, the Beijing Performing Arts Center, Beijing Library, and Beijing Grand Canal Museum attract a constant stream of visitors.

On December 27, 2023, the three major cultural buildings were opened to the public, becoming new cultural landmarks in the BMC of Beijing by the millennium canal. Since the planning and construction began, Beijing has adhered to the construction requirements of "world vision, international standards, Chinese characteristics, and high positioning" and the construction concept of "people-centered," allowing the three major cultural buildings to help enhance the cultural character of the sub-center and meet the diverse cultural needs of its citizens.

Creative architectural design

In BMC, each of the three major cultural buildings has a unique design and a distinctive nickname:

The Beijing Grand Canal Museum is also known as the "Canal Boat." Its design concept is inspired by the ship, sail, and water elements in ancient canal scenery. The south side of the building resembles a towering sail, while the north side resembles a sturdy and solid boat, presenting a picturesque canal scene.

The Beijing Library is also known as the "Forest Sanctuary." It combines the traditional Chinese "red seal" imagery with a new type of public space design. The highly transparent glass curtain walls blend nature with architecture, and the two "book mountains" inside the library create a grand and continuous reading atmosphere, evoking the elegance of reading "among mountains, under trees."

The Beijing Performing Arts Center is also known as the "Cultural Storehouse." Its creative inspiration comes from the ancient granaries in Tongzhou and the boats used for transporting goods. It is designed and constructed to meet world-class theater standards.

According to reports, the design plans for the three major cultural buildings were selected through domestic and international solicitation, with the collaboration of top-notch architectural design teams from China and abroad. After more than 1,400 days and nights of continuous efforts by the construction team, the busy canal scenes from a thousand years ago were frozen in the form of these buildings.

The three major cultural buildings are not only aesthetically pleasing but also have profound "meaning." The Beijing Performing Arts Center stood out among more than 300 top projects from 35 countries and won international awards in the field of digital construction engineering. Its acoustic effect has been measured to reach the world's top sound quality level. The Beijing Library has achieved high-level production and installation of a 16-meter world-class ultra-high glass curtain wall, and its fully automated mechanical library brings readers a new borrowing experience. The Grand Canal Museum of Beijing has installed 242 damping supports evenly distributed to protect the safety of the buildings and cultural relics. In addition, all three major cultural buildings comply with the three-star green building standard, and they have established multi-energy complementary energy systems such as ground-source heat pumps and photovoltaic power generation, as well as a "sponge city" system for retaining and absorbing stormwater.

Rich and diverse artistic resources

The three major cultural buildings are modern public cultural facilities situated in the Grand Canal Cultural Belt, where modern civilization and canal culture come together. The operators are promoting the development of art, literature, cultural heritage, and more, aiming to create a place where citizens can enjoy high-quality cultural and leisure experiences.

Entering the Beijing Library, one finds oneself in a knowledge space supported by 144 "ginkgo trees." The stunning sight of the "valley hall" leaves visitors amazed. The layered and staggered staircase-like structures create a rich reading and book storage space. This 75,000-square-meter building houses 8 million volumes of books, offering a reading experience that unfolds with every step.

The operators have carefully selected the cultural and artistic resources to promote their introduction and sharing. The operators of the Beijing Art Performing Arts Center, Beijing Library, and Beijing Grand Canal Museum are the National Centre for the Performing Arts, the Capital Library of China, and the Capital Museum, respectively. The operators effectively utilize relevant cultural resources, making the three major cultural buildings a popular destination for people seeking a high-quality cultural and leisure lifestyle right after their opening.

Promoting active cultural inheritance and development. During the construction process, the three major cultural buildings incorporated ingenious designs, including transparent walkways that allow visitors to glimpse parts of the ancient canal remains. Additionally, the Beijing Grand Canal Museum has launched a variety of themed activities and more than 500 types of cultural and creative products, combining the museum's collection, canal culture, preservation of old brands, intangible cultural heritage, and cultural and creative design to integrate traditional Chinese elements into daily life.

Smart and convenient open sharing

Building on the foundation of the Urban Central Green Forest Park, the three major cultural buildings focus on improving the accessibility, convenience, and usefulness of public cultural facilities. They have broken away from the traditional model of independent construction of public buildings, achieving innovative integration of theater, library, museum, shared facilities, and reserve metro stations through coordinated design and construction. They have also created a "public space without walls" for open sharing.

As "neighbors," the three major cultural buildings each have their unique features and host exciting events. Different cultural resources converge here, attracting citizens and tourists like a "cultural magnet" to visit and explore.

Technological innovation makes cultural experiences more convenient. At the Beijing Library, the "unsensed reading room" offers readers a new experience. When a reader takes a book off the shelf, a visual inventory system is triggered, dynamically tracking the reader and automatically associating the borrowed book with the reader's record.

Technological innovation brings high-quality cultural and artistic experiences into the public eye. Stepping into the elegant music hall of the Beijing Performing Arts Center, one can see a stage surrounded by audience seating and a pipe organ. According to reports, this pipe organ features advanced technology, including an electronic playing console with mechanical touch sensitivity, expanding the possibilities for playing various types of organ music at the Beijing Performing Arts Center.

In addition, the three major cultural buildings provide "warm" services to the public through detailed designs such as mother and baby spaces, barrier-free elevators, and free timed explanations.

"Cultural Granary," a continuous display of excellent performances; "Forest Bookstore," a haven for knowledge; "Canal Boat," setting sail for new horizons. These three cultural landmarks seamlessly integrate into the urban green heart, allowing citizens to immerse themselves in the beauty of nature, admire architectural wonders, and appreciate cultural treasures. In the near future, this place will become the civic center, the hub of vitality, and the cultural leisure and entertainment center of Beijing's sub-center.

Translator: ZHANG Bo

Reviewer: JIANG Wenyi