BEIJING -- The Beijing Municipal Government issued a list on Thursday of protected contemporary buildings, aiming to safeguard these structures amid accelerating urbanization.
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Great Hall of the People [file] |
The list, jointly issued by the Beijing Municipal Commission of Urban Planning and Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage, covers 188 buildings. These include the 50-year-old Great Hall of the People, where the annual session of the National People's Congress is held, and major buildings at two century-old prestigious universities, Beijing University and Tsinghua University.
All the buildings on the list were built from the mid-20th century and the late 1970s. The listed structures can't be demolished in the city's urbanization drive and any renovation should preserve their historical authenticity.
Buildings chosen either reflect the vicissitudes of Chinese society or the development of architecture here, according to Wen Zhongyong, senior official with the Beijing Municipal Commission of Urban Planning.