Ｌａｎｄｍａｒｋ　Ｓｉｇｎｓ　ｏｆ　ｔｈｅ　Ｔｉｍｅｓ.docVIP

Ｌａｎｄｍａｒｋ　Ｓｉｇｎｓ　ｏｆ　ｔｈｅ　Ｔｉｍｅｓ 　　 　　THE Chinese public has periodically selected over the past five decades what they believe to be Beijing’s ten most impressive pieces of architecture. Buildings voted “top ten” in 1959, 1988, 2001 and 2007 reflect both the changes in China’s architectural concepts and the country’s progressive socio-economic transition. 　　 　　1950s 　　 　　The buildings voted Beijing’s top ten in 1959 were projects celebrating the tenth anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. As such, they were also the national “top ten.” Their design, selection of building materials and actual construction were simultaneously accomplished in the ten months leading up to the tenth-anniversary celebration. The architectural concept of these buildings was open, in accordance with Premier Zhou Enlai’s principle, “We can adopt all good things, both ancient and modern, Chinese and foreign.” The large pitched roof of the National Agricultural Exhibition Center exemplifies traditional Chinese architecture; the Great Hall of the 　　People is in classic Western style; the Military Museum of the Chinese 　　People’s Revolution is obviously influenced by Russian soviet architecture; and the Cultural Palace for Nationalities celebrates “new China” style. The Western economic blockade of the time limited China’s socio-economic 　　development and consequently the perspective of Chinese architects, 　　precluding any dynamic architectural statement. 　　 　　 　　1980s 　　 　　Beijing’s ten most admired buildings of the 1980s, selected in 1988 by 230,000 votes, are all representative of the so-called modernist style. They now appear somewhat brash. The Great Wall Hotel, with its mirrored exterior and scenic elevator, embodies the contemporary international architectural fad. The Memorial Hall of the Chinese People’s Resistance against Japanese Aggression, the New Venue of the National Library of China and the China Grand Theater all combine modernism and Chinese