An old high-rise factory chimney in Beijing, one of the city's historic buildings, is set to regain new vitality as it is designed to be transformed into a new cultural and art space through innovative renovation.
The 180-meter-high chimney, built in the 1970s, stands at the Tianning No.1 Cultural and Technological Innovation Park, which was once a thermal power plant that closed in 2009.
After modern projection technology was used to display various images on it during the Beijing Animation Week in October, the disused chimney gained the attention of residents and became popular on social media.
"We used projection technology to display a 'golden cudgel' (the iconic weapon of the legendary Monkey King from Chinese classical literature). It topped the social media trending list then and attracted many residents to visit the park to take photos," said Su Xiao, deputy general manager of the cultural and technological innovation park.
After the closure of the old power plant, the landmark chimney was preserved and listed as one of the first batch of historical buildings in Beijing in 2019.
Su has more details about the renovation plan for the eye-catching building, a remnant of the old factory, with the goal of transforming it into an urban art space.
"We plan to use the first floor (of the chimney) to create a multi-functional stage area, with the stage in the center and seating along the two sides. On the second floor, we plan to build a two-meter-wide spiral corridor to display calligraphy, paintings, and other artworks, transforming it into an exhibition space and a cultural and art area," said Su.
In addition to the chimney, Beijing, a city rich in history, is making greater efforts to preserve and protect its historic buildings and the cultural significance they hold.
"Beijing is a city with a rich historical background, featuring architecture from different periods that reflects the city's values. Our goal is to preserve buildings from different historical eras to showcase the city's rich and diverse heritage," said Ye Nan, director of the Historical and Cultural City Planning Institute at the Beijing Municipal Institute of City Planning and Design.
"Thanks to the joint efforts of governments and management units at various levels, the preservation of these historic buildings has improved to varying degrees. However, there is still a gap between these improvements and the goal of polishing Beijing's historical and cultural reputation, as well as meeting the public needs for a better urban environment. We hope that through further efforts and with the joint efforts of society, we can better protect, preserve and make good use of the historic buildings in Beijing," said Shen Yubiao, an official at the Capital Planning and Development Commission Office.
Old industrial building in Beijing set to revitalize through renovation
