Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
men, and their return was much heralded. Another two were returned in 2013, and now take
pride of place in the
National Museum of China
;
the four here may follow in due course. The
second hall displays ancient Buddha statues.
Dongyue Temple
东岳庙
, dōngyuè miào • Chaoyangmenwai Dajie • Tues-Sun 8am-5pm •
￥
40 •
Dongdaqiao subway (line 6)
The
Dongyue Temple
is an intriguing place, in pointed contrast to all the shrines to materi-
alism outside. It dates back to the Ming dynasty, and though it's been restored and rebranded
as the “Beijing Folk Arts Museum” it's essentially still the same place, with a few vaguely
diverting exhibitions. Pass under the Zhandaimen archway - originally constructed in 1322 -
and you enter a courtyard holding around thirty annexes, each of which deals with a different
aspect of Taoist life, the whole making up a sort of surreal spiritual bureaucracy. There's the
“Department of Suppressing Schemes”, “Department of Wandering Ghosts”, even a “Depart-
ment for Fifteen Kinds of Violent Death”. In each, a statue of Taoist deity Lao Zi holds court
over brightly painted figures, many with monstrous animal heads, too many limbs and the
like. The temple shop sells red tablets for worshippers to sign and leave outside the annexes
as petitions to the spiritual officials. Departments dealing with longevity and wealth are un-
surprisingly popular, but so, tellingly, is the “Department for Official Morality”.
The Central Business District
Bristling with glassy skyscrapers, Beijing's
CBD
is a ritzy area with an international flavour
and an affluent, though surprisingly relaxed, atmosphere. Forget traditional tourist sights and
activities, bar gawping at an acrobatic show at the excellent
Chaoyang Theatre
- this area's
Other than the zany CCTV building, notable structures include
Central Park
and
The
Place
, two complexes facing each other over Jintong Xilu. A mix of office space, apartment
blocks, shops and restaurants centred on a mound-like park, the former is an admirable piece
of urban engineering; the latter comprises a pair of shopping malls linked underground, and
separated above ground by the
world'slongestLEDscreen
(120m), which sparkles into life
come sundown. Also in the area is the famed
Silk Market
, a giant six-storey mall of fake
goods.
CCTV Headquarters
央视大楼
, yāngshì dàlóu • Guanghua Lu • Closed to visitors • Jintaixizhao subway (line 10)
By far the most distinctive of the CBD's many weird and wonderful structures is the
headquarters of
CCTV
, the national state broadcaster. Designed by Dutch architect Rem
Koolhaas and completed in 2012, the 230m-high building's extraordinary Escheresque shape
