Ten Great Buildings
Encyclopedia
The Ten Great Buildings are ten public buildings built in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

 in 1959 to commemorate the ten year anniversary of the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

. They were part of an architecture and urbanism initiative of the Great Leap Forward
Great Leap Forward
The Great Leap Forward of the People's Republic of China was an economic and social campaign of the Communist Party of China , reflected in planning decisions from 1958 to 1961, which aimed to use China's vast population to rapidly transform the country from an agrarian economy into a modern...

, and were completed in a time span of ten months, by their deadline of 1 October 1959. In addition to the construction of the ten new buildings was an expansion of Tiannamen square, and a campaign of art commissions to decorate the majority of the buildings by the time of their completion. Two subsequent art campaigns for these buildings were conducted in 1961, and 1964-1965. The architecture of the buildings was a mixture of three main tendencies: modernism
Modern architecture
Modern architecture is generally characterized by simplification of form and creation of ornament from the structure and theme of the building. It is a term applied to an overarching movement, with its exact definition and scope varying widely...

 as it had developed as the international style
International style (architecture)
The International style is a major architectural style that emerged in the 1920s and 1930s, the formative decades of Modern architecture. The term originated from the name of a book by Henry-Russell Hitchcock and Philip Johnson, The International Style...

, the Socialist realism of Stalinist architecture
Stalinist architecture
Stalinist architecture , also referred to as Stalinist Gothic, or Socialist Classicism, is a term given to architecture of the Soviet Union between 1933, when Boris Iofan's draft for Palace of the Soviets was officially approved, and 1955, when Nikita Khrushchev condemned "excesses" of the past...

, and a form of historicism based on traditional Chinese architecture
Chinese architecture
Chinese architecture refers to a style of architecture that has taken shape in East Asia over many centuries. The structural principles of Chinese architecture have remained largely unchanged, the main changes being only the decorative details...

. The buildings were designed by members of the Beijing Institute of Architectural Design, working with the Beijing Planning Bureau and the Ministry of Construction. The Ten Great Buildings transformed Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

 by adding monumental architecture becoming of capital cities such as Washington, DC; Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

; or Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

.

The buildings

The ten buildings are:
  • The Great Hall of the People
    Great Hall of the People
    The Great Hall of the People is located at the western edge of Tiananmen Square, Beijing, People's Republic of China, and is used for legislative and ceremonial activities by the People's Republic of China and the Communist Party of China. It functions as the People's Republic of China's...

    - Located on the western edge of Tiananmen Square
    Tiananmen Square
    Tiananmen Square is a large city square in the center of Beijing, China, named after the Tiananmen Gate located to its North, separating it from the Forbidden City. Tiananmen Square is the third largest city square in the world...

    , the Great Hall of the People houses China's top legislative body, the National People's Congress
    National People's Congress
    The National People's Congress , abbreviated NPC , is the highest state body and the only legislative house in the People's Republic of China. The National People's Congress is held in the Great Hall of the People, Beijing, capital of the People's Republic of China; with 2,987 members, it is the...

    , and is also used for other ceremonial activities.
  • The National Museum of China
    National Museum of China
    The National Museum of China flanks the eastern side of Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China. The mission of the museum is to educate about the arts and history of China...

    - Originally known as the China Revolutionary History Museum, this building is located on the eastern edge of Tiananmen Square
    Tiananmen Square
    Tiananmen Square is a large city square in the center of Beijing, China, named after the Tiananmen Gate located to its North, separating it from the Forbidden City. Tiananmen Square is the third largest city square in the world...

    .
  • The Cultural Palace of Nationalities
    Cultural Palace of Nationalities
    The Cultural Palace of Nationalities is located at Beijing's Xicheng District, south Chang'an Avenue. It was built in September 1959 and is one of the Ten Great Buildings. It was registered as the first of 55 museums in the city. It consists of a museum, gallery, library, art institute, theater,...

    - Located on the north side of West Chang'an Avenue
    Chang'an Avenue
    Chang'an Avenue , literally "Eternal Peace Street", is a major thoroughfare in Beijing, China.Chang'an is the old name for Xi'an which was the capital of China during the Tang Dynasty and other periods....

    , the Nationalities Cultural Palace is a medium rise building incorporating traditional Chinese design elements. It has won a number of awards as an example of modern Chinese-style design.
  • The Beijing Railway Station
    Beijing railway station
    Beijing Railway Station is one of Beijing's railway stations, opened in the 1950s, as can be seen from its architecture . It is located in the city's central location, just next to Jianguomen, and is within the confines of the city's 2nd Ring Road...

    - Designed by architects Yang Tingbao and Chen Deng'ao, Beijing Railway Station was the largest modern passenger rail terminal in China at the time of construction. Since its construction, it has served as the terminal of a number of domestic and international services, including services to Moscow
    Moscow
    Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

    , Ulan Bator, and Pyongyang
    Pyongyang
    Pyongyang is the capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea, and the largest city in the country. Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River and, according to preliminary results from the 2008 population census, has a population of 3,255,388. The city was...

    . It replaced the old Beijing Railway Station at Qianmen
    Qianmen
    Qianmen is the colloquial name for Zhengyangmen , a gate in Beijing's historic city wall. The gate is situated to the south of Tiananmen Square and once guarded the southern entry into the Inner City. Although much of Beijing's city walls were demolished, Qianmen remains an important...

    , near Tiananmen Square
    Tiananmen Square
    Tiananmen Square is a large city square in the center of Beijing, China, named after the Tiananmen Gate located to its North, separating it from the Forbidden City. Tiananmen Square is the third largest city square in the world...

    , which had been built in 1901.
  • The Workers' Stadium - The multi-purpose stadium
    Multi-purpose stadium
    Multi-purpose stadiums are a type of stadium designed in such a way as to be easily used by multiple sports. While any stadium could potentially host more than one sport, this concept usually refers to a specific design philosophy that stresses multi-functionality over specificity...

     was last renovated in 2004 and now has a capacity of 66,161. It hosted the first National Games of the People's Republic of China.
  • The National Agriculture Exhibition Hall - Premier Zhou Enlai
    Zhou Enlai
    Zhou Enlai was the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, serving from October 1949 until his death in January 1976...

     oversaw the planning of this building. It was first used in 1959 to house the Tenth Anniversary National Agricultural Achievements Exhibition.
  • The Diaoyutai State Guesthouse
    Diaoyutai State Guesthouse
    The Diaoyutai State Guesthouse is a historic hotel and guesthouse complex in Beijing, China. It includes a number of buildings, houses and gardens. The name "Diaoyutai" means "angling platform", and is so named because the site was a favourite fishing spot of Emperor Zhangzong of Jin China. It is...

    - The hotel and guesthouse complex is built on the site of an 800-year-old garden dating back to the Jin Dynasty. The building incorporates design elements of traditional Chinese garden architecture. Formerly reserved for visiting dignitaries and Party officials (most famously Jiang Qing
    Jiang Qing
    Jiang Qing was the pseudonym that was used by Chinese leader Mao Zedong's last wife and major Communist Party of China power figure. She went by the stage name Lan Ping during her acting career, and was known by various other names during her life...

    , Madame Mao), the guesthouse is now open to the public
  • The Minzu Hotel
    Minzu Hotel
    The Minzu Hotel is one of the Ten Great Buildings of Beijing, People's Republic of China. The Minzu Hotel is located on West Chang'an Avenue. It has hosted numerous foreign delegations, and is often used for press conferences. The 10-storey hotel has 507 rooms....

    - The Minzu Hotel is located on West Chang'an Avenue
    Chang'an Avenue
    Chang'an Avenue , literally "Eternal Peace Street", is a major thoroughfare in Beijing, China.Chang'an is the old name for Xi'an which was the capital of China during the Tang Dynasty and other periods....

    . It has hosted numerous foreign delegations, and is often used for press conferences.
  • The Overseas Chinese Hotel - The original Overseas Chinese Hotel was demolished in the 1990s. A new building on the same site is now part of the Prime Hotel chain
  • The Chinese People's Revolutionary Military Museum
    Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution
    The Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution, or China People's Revolution Military Museum is a museum located in Beijing, China immediately west of central Beijing in Haidian District...

    - Located on Fuxing Road in Beijing, this is the only large, comprehensive war museum in China. Displays focus on wars of the twentieth century, especially the Chinese Civil War
    Chinese Civil War
    The Chinese Civil War was a civil war fought between the Kuomintang , the governing party of the Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China , for the control of China which eventually led to China's division into two Chinas, Republic of China and People's Republic of...

    , but also cover other ancient and modern warfare and weapons. The main building is seven storeys high at the centre, and is topped by a central steeple. Two four-storey side wings extend on either side.

Art program

The art program to coincide with the construction of the Ten Great Buildings was vast in its scope—including some 345 paintings, murals, and sculptures to decorate the new buildings. Many were done in the modes of traditional Chinese painting
Chinese painting
Chinese painting is one of the oldest continuous artistic traditions in the world. The earliest paintings were not representational but ornamental; they consisted of patterns or designs rather than pictures. Early pottery was painted with spirals, zigzags, dots, or animals...

, and others were in the socialist realist
Socialist realism
Socialist realism is a style of realistic art which was developed in the Soviet Union and became a dominant style in other communist countries. Socialist realism is a teleologically-oriented style having its purpose the furtherance of the goals of socialism and communism...

 style. The Great Hall of the People received much of the commission's attention but the campaign was not limited to this building. One aspect of the decoration in the Great Hall was the correlation of rooms for representatives from each province with regional art by artists from these respective provinces. The artistic centerpiece of this building was a large painting by Fu Baoshi
Fu Baoshi
Fu Baoshi , or Fu Pao-Shih, was a Chinese painter from Xinyu, Jiangxi Province. He went to Japan to study the History of Oriental Art in the Tokyo School of Fine Arts in 1933. He translated many books from Japanese and carried out his own research...

 and Guan Shanyue for the main staircase. Entitled This Land So Rich in Beauty, it is one of the largest paintings on paper in China, with dimensions of 5.5 by 9 meters. The painting was based on the poem Ode to Snow by Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...

, and includes a transcription of Mao's calligraphy of the title.

Architecture

The architecture of the Ten Great Buildings is a composite of factors based in modernism, communism, and historicism. Chinese architecture at the time was shaped by review of its own historical models mixed with external influences. Debate was vigorous in publications such as the Architectural Journal prior to the constructions, and history, modernity and influence were being conceptualized and reconsidered. A criticism of this initiative is that while creating facilities for political, and cultural institutions, these public projects failed to provide for a needed increase in housing, however, a housing surge would occur in the country later in the century. Modern architecture
Modern architecture
Modern architecture is generally characterized by simplification of form and creation of ornament from the structure and theme of the building. It is a term applied to an overarching movement, with its exact definition and scope varying widely...

 brought to China, as it had to the west, a new economic and rational manner of building, and the modernist buildings of the group were the least decorated by the public art campaign. Examples of this are the Workers' Stadium, the Minzu Hotel, and the Overseas Chinese Hotel. The modernist tenets of function and structure were realized in these buildings, yet these were attributed both to western capitalist influences and the Soviet notion of the proletariat. The Soviet architecture
Stalinist architecture
Stalinist architecture , also referred to as Stalinist Gothic, or Socialist Classicism, is a term given to architecture of the Soviet Union between 1933, when Boris Iofan's draft for Palace of the Soviets was officially approved, and 1955, when Nikita Khrushchev condemned "excesses" of the past...

 inspired examples from the Ten Buildings are the Great Hall of the People, the National Museum of China, and the Chinese People's Revolutionary Military Museum. The Great Hall of the People and the National Museum of China across from it on the square continue the numerology of tens—each having ten freestanding columns in their facades. The architectural aspects of the traditionally inspired buildings included large and heavy roofs laden with ceramic tiles. These were often stacked in multiple layers recalling the towering form of the pagoda
Pagoda
A pagoda is the general term in the English language for a tiered tower with multiple eaves common in Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam and other parts of Asia. Some pagodas are used as Taoist houses of worship. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most commonly Buddhist,...

. Another feature is upturned corners and curved ridges on hipped
Hip roof
A hip roof, or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope. Thus it is a house with no gables or other vertical sides to the roof. A square hip roof is shaped like a pyramid. Hip roofs on the houses could have two triangular side...

 edges. Beneath these thick composite toppings are layers of beams, and brackets known as dougong
Dougong
Dougong is a unique structural element of interlocking wooden brackets, one of the most important elements in traditional Chinese architecture....

. Examples of this type of architecture among the Ten Great Constructions are the Beijing railway station, the Nationalities Cultural Palace, and the National Agriculture Exhibition Hall.
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