Beijing Officials Build Themselves 'Kremlin-Like' Office Complex
Source: http://www.scmp.com
#kremlin #china #beijing #architecture
Officials in a Beijing suburb have sidestepped President Xi Jinping's crackdown on government waste by building themselves a lavish office complex reminiscent of the Kremlin.
Mentougou, a largely rural district in western Beijing with some 270,000 residents, is now home to a group of government buildings with onion-shaped golden crowns, arched windows and white walls similar to the Cathedral of Annunciation, the five-century-old Russian Orthodox Church located inside the Kremlin in Moscow.
The meteorological bureau was the first tenant in the new compound. The three other buildings will house the district's seismological bureau, water bureau, and the bureau of landscape and forestry.
The district's meteorological office refused to comment.
One of the buildings in the compound cost US$ 3.5 million, and another more than US$ 1.5 million.
This was not the first mainland government building to imitate or be inspired by an overseas landmark. One of the most notorious examples was the government headquarters in Fuyang, an impoverished city in Anhui province, which was built a decade ago at a cost of at least US$ 5 million. It has since become a tourist attraction for its purported resemblance to Washington State Capitol.
Mentougou, a largely rural district in western Beijing with some 270,000 residents, is now home to a group of government buildings with onion-shaped golden crowns, arched windows and white walls similar to the Cathedral of Annunciation, the five-century-old Russian Orthodox Church located inside the Kremlin in Moscow.
The meteorological bureau was the first tenant in the new compound. The three other buildings will house the district's seismological bureau, water bureau, and the bureau of landscape and forestry.
The district's meteorological office refused to comment.
One of the buildings in the compound cost US$ 3.5 million, and another more than US$ 1.5 million.
This was not the first mainland government building to imitate or be inspired by an overseas landmark. One of the most notorious examples was the government headquarters in Fuyang, an impoverished city in Anhui province, which was built a decade ago at a cost of at least US$ 5 million. It has since become a tourist attraction for its purported resemblance to Washington State Capitol.
