China Central Place

Located in Beijing’s Chaoyang District, the 1 million-square-meter (10.8 million-sq. ft.) China Central Place integrates three high-rise office towers, two five-star hotels, a shopping center with more than 1,000 tenants and 60 restaurants, seven residential towers, and two new public parks on a 17-hectare (42-acre) site. Threaded by a series of canals and landscaped walkways that link public parks, plazas, and fountains, the mixed-use development devotes over a third of its area to open space. Developed by Beijing Guohua Real Estate Co., Ltd., the land development arm of the state electric power company, China Central Place is located on the reclaimed site of a former power station.

Beijing Finance Street

Since Beijing was awarded the 2008 Summer Olympics, the capital city has undergone a physical transformation on a massive scale. At the center of the enormous, citywide development effort lies Beijing Finance Street—a 3.36 million-square-meter (36.2 million-sf) mixed-use development that features offices, luxury hotels, retail space, and apartments arranged around a meandering central park. The CNY31.6 billion (US$4.6 billion) project is situated on the former site of a dilapidated hutong neighborhood—a cluster of narrow alleys lined by traditional courtyard residences—five blocks west of the Forbidden City, Beijing’s historic center.