A Beijing That Isn't (Part I)

Abstract

There have been numerous plans for the reconstruction of Beijing, or the redesign of areas of the city as it has expanded over the years. Some of the most dramatic plans centred along the axial road that itself first came into being in the early days of the Republic of China. What is now Chang'an Boulevard (Chang'an Dajie) was a short thoroughfare punctuated by gates and memorial arches until its extension and the expansion of Tiananmen Square in the 1950s.

The history of the square and the boulevard are much discussed elsewhere, as are the various monumental buildings both of the socialist and the hypersocialist eras. But what of the other plans for the city, and the buildings, aspirational and otherwise, that were never realised? The following account discusses some of the plans for the city's political, social and cultural life that were mooted, some even partially realised, but then abandoned. It is an account of a Beijing that did not come into being, of a Beijing that isn't.

Along with Beijing Underground, another essay in the Features section of this issue, we reflect on the unrealised heritage of the city, the unbuilt Beijing. Show more