China’s New Landmarks

This book focuses on China’s iconic cultural landmarks， characteristic buildings， and major projects. Through this book， readers can not only see the development of modern science and technology in China and understand the development plans of different cultural characteristics of China’s major cities， but also see how China preserves the wisdom of the ancients and gives it new life. These new landmark buildings are representative of different stages in the development of modern Chinese society.

Beijing Daxing International Airport

Beijing Daxing International Airport， the world’s biggest airport， officially became operational on September 25， 2019.

Beijing， the capital of the People’s Republic of China， is also an ancient capital with a history of more than 3，000 years. In 1421， Zhu Di， an emperor of the Ming Dynasty， moved the capital to Beijing. From then on， Beijing was the capital of the Ming and Qing dynasties and left a great and splendid legacy of historical and cultural heritage.

In the future， Beijing Daxing International Airport will perhaps be your first port of call in the city. A bird’s-eye view of the airport shows that this golden complex has “tentacles” extending radially in six directions in a seemingly strange shape. Based on the design concept of the “phoenix rising from the ashes，” the airport has an orange roof. The phoenix is regarded as the king of birds in ancient Chinese legends and holds great importance in Chinese culture. As an auspicious bird， the phoenix represents a lucky， beautiful and happy life. Beijing Daxing International Airport officially opened with such a beautiful meaning， so it also has a nice alias， being known as “The Fire Phoenix.”

Upon its completion， Beijing Daxing International Airport became the world’s biggest airport. Preliminary statistics indicate that the airport has achieved more than 40 world and national records. Construction of the airport presented a number of difficulties. For example， the airport terminal is the world’s largest seamless steel structure and the world’s first terminal with two arrival floors and two departure floors. The airport has also introduced 5G， face recognition， VR Experience and other highly intelligent technologies. These smart technologies greatly simplify the passenger boarding process. One only needs to “swipe your face” to complete the security check， boarding， and other procedures at the airport.

The design plan of such an outstanding project is a story that the industry talks about with keen interest. It turns out that the radial shape of Daxing International Airport is not just to make it look like a phoenix. Prior to this， most airports in the world applied the traditional roll-out design， which often resulted in a relatively long distance from the entrance to the boarding gate. The radial shape that Beijing Daxing International Airport finally decided to adopt greatly reduces the walking distance of passengers in the airport. From the terminal to the boarding gate， the longest distance is only 600 meters， which is much shorter than that in other Asian or European terminals with a similar capacity. In addition， it is quite easy for passengers to find their boarding gate in this spacious terminal.

Several years ago， the location of Beijing Daxing International Airport was no more than a barren patch of land. Today， like a phoenix rising from the ashes， it has become a big hit on the Internet， showing its charm to the world. In the future， Beijing Daxing International Airport will become one of the busiest and largest transportation hubs in the world.

Xixi Wetland

Xixi Wetland is China’s first national wetland park that integrates urban wetland， farming wetland and cultural wetland.

In the west of Hangzhou， about five kilometers from the West Lake is Xixi Wetland， a rare wetland with a total area of about 11.5 square kilometers.

Xixi National Wetland Park is China’s first wetland park. In 2003， Hangzhou began the comprehensive protection of Xixi Wetland. Two years later， Xixi National Wetland Park was completed and officially opened to the public. The area of river ports， ponds， lakes， and swamps account for approximately 70% of the entire park. A total of six rivers crisscross the park where the waterways are like lanes. The islands are densely dotted and the vegetation is lush， making the air extremely fresh and creating a pleasant ecological environment.

In 2012， Hangzhou Xixi Wetland Tourist Area was officially awarded the title of National 5A Tourist Scenic Spot and became China’s first National Wetland Park in a 5A National Scenic Spot.

In addition to its beautiful scenery， Xixi has a long history. In ancient China， many emperors， generals， ministers， literary figures， and celebrities regarded Xixi as a pure land and a paradise on earth，" praising it with a great deal of poetry and prose. Xixi boasts rich cultural connotations and diverse cultural forms， and continues many traditional folk customs such as “Dragon Boat Racing，” “Netting Fish in the Pond，” “Digging Shoots in the Bamboo Grove，” and “Picnics during the Qingming Festival.”

Xixi Dragon Boat Racing is a well-known folk event. Every year， on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar， dragon boats from Xixi’s neighboring townships gather here to participate in the hustle and bustle of the dragon boat race. In addition， Chinese classical art and opera performances， martial arts， dragon dances， and lion dances are staged nearby. In the water， several hundred dragon boats chase each other. These folk customs represent the brave， tenacious， and indomitable spirit of the Xixi people. This traditional folk activity continues to this day.

Xixi National Wetland Park has always prioritized ecological protection. While developing tourism resources， the authority strengthens ecological protection measures. It has not only protected and restored the natural functions of the wetland， but also pioneered wetland protection and utilization in China. Xixi Wetland deserves the title of China’s No. 1 Wetland Park thanks to its gorgeous beauty. In the Xixi Wetland， you may enjoy the primitive wilderness by boating and fishing in the lakes， and you may also experience the colorful Xixi culture on traditional festivals.

Chengdu Kuanzhai Alley

Kuanzhai Alley is a relatively large-scale ancient street of the Qing Dynasty in Chengdu. It continued the residential style of western Sichuan in the Qing Dynasty. It has won the title of Commercial Pedestrian Street with Chinese Characteristics and was also named one of Chengdu’s Top Ten New Scenic Spots.

Chengdu has been known as the “l(fā)and of abundance” since ancient times. For several thousand years， Chengdu has been an important city in southwestern China. Being the capital of the ancient Shu Kingdom more than 2，000 years ago， it features a splendid Bashu culture.

Chengdu Kuanzhai Alley is located to the west of Chengdu’s downtown area at the western side of Tianfu Square.

Kuanzhai Alley is an ancient street block composed of a wide alley， a narrow alley， and a square alley in parallel. It was built during the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty.

In 1718， during the fifty-seventh year of the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty， after the Dzungar Rebellion was suppressed， the court selected more than a thousand soldiers to be stationed in Chengdu， and built Shaocheng， a city within Chengdu， for these soldiers and their families to live in. Shaocheng， at its peak， had eight official streets and 33 hutongs， which accommodated more than 20，000 soldiers and 10，000 to 20，000 family members， and was equivalent in size to a small city. Kuanzhai Alley is a relic of Shaocheng， and the only site of the northern hutong culture and architectural style in the south.

In 2008， the overall restoration and renovation project of Kuanzhai Alley was completed. On the basis of protecting the ancient buildings， a cultural and commercial district with a distinctive Bashu cultural atmosphere was formed to mainly cater to tourism and leisure requirements. It not only has buildings from the Qing Dynasty but also some Western-style churches. It recreates the leisurely atmosphere of old Chengdu and has built a “Tianfu Shaocheng” with the characteristics of “an image of old Chengdu and a parlor of the new metropolis.” Since then， Kuanzhai Alley has become a brand new landmark in Chengdu， and a true portrayal of the typical Chengdu life.

Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge

The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) is located at the Lingdingyang area of the Pearl River Estuary in Guangdong Province. It is a bridge and tunnel project connecting Hong Kong， Zhuhai， and Macao. It was selected for the World’s Best Bridge and Tunnel Project Award in 2018 by the US Engineering News-Record (ENR).

Macao is a special administrative region of the People’s Republic of China， facing the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to the east across the sea. On December 20， 1999， the Chinese government resumed its sovereignty over Macao. After more than 100 years of the fusion of Eastern and Western cultures， Macao has become a city with a unique combination of Chinese and Western cultures， and a large number of historical and cultural relics.

In the 1980s， transportation links were already good between Hong Kong， Macao， and the Chinese mainland. However， transportation between Hong Kong and the west bank of the Pearl River Delta was severely restricted due to the barrier of Lingdingyang， which also affected Hong Kong’s local economic development. By the end of the 1990s， affected by the Asian financial crisis， both political and business circles believed that a sea-going passage connecting Hong Kong， Zhuhai， and Macao should be built， so they proposed a plan to build the Lingdingyang Bridge. However， due to various reasons， this project was not implemented. In 2003， the Lingdingyang Bridge project was officially replaced by the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge project.

It took 15 years from the preparation to the completion of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge. Enormous manpower， materials， and financial resources were invested in the project. During this period， nearly 600 construction workers were injured and more than a dozen lost their precious lives. This bridge featuring the longest mileage， the longest designed lifespan， the largest steel structure， and the most difficult construction has set many world records. But before its completion， no one believed that the Chinese people could really build such a bridge.

At the beginning of the project， the builders faced various difficulties such as insufficient experience and limited project funding. The biggest problem at that time was the construction of an immersed tube tunnel in the open sea. At that time， the total length of immersed tube tunnel projects in China was less than four kilometers. And the difficulty of building immersed tube tunnels in the open sea was much greater. In order to solve this problem， Lin Ming， the chief engineer of the bridge， learned from international experiences. He first went to South Korea， but was rejected， and then to the Netherlands. But the Netherlands demanded RMB 1.5 billion for this service and Lin only had a budget of RMB 300 million. Several rounds of negotiations ended in failure. After being repeatedly rejected， Lin Ming thought of independently tackling the problem.

Without reference to foreign technologies， the odds of overcoming this problem were rather small， but Lin Ming and his team never flinched no matter how hard their task appeared to be. In May 2013， the entire team worked continuously for 96 hours before successfully installing the first immersed tube tunnel. However， the installation of the 15th immersed tube tunnel encountered obstacles when there were not only rarely seen low temperatures but also big waves of over one meter high， nearly killing the workers. But no one flinched at the critical moment， and after three attempts they finally installed it successfully. The last immersed tube tunnel was successfully put in place in May 2017. It took the entire team nine years to create this miracle.

The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge can withstand a magnitude eight earthquake， a level 16 super typhoon， an impact of 300，000 tons， and a once-in-a-300-year flood tide at the Pearl River estuary. With a design service life of 120 years， it is a great feat which will benefit future generations.

Today， the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge has been opened to traffic. It has not only greatly shortened the distance between Hong Kong， Zhuhai， and Macao， but is also a milestone of China’s evolution from a big to a powerful bridge building country. At present， tour agencies have successively opened sightseeing businesses which allow countless people not only to hear of， but also to get close to this world-famous bridge and experience the magnificence and greatness of this project.

Lan Cheng

Lan Cheng， formerly known as Sun Xue， is a freelance writer in new media， who loves reading and traveling， has published many articles on new media platforms， and has set up article columns on media platforms.