Beijing South Rail Station
The new Beijing South Rail Station is an architectural icon for China's capital city and one of the largest stations in China. It connects the capital with Shanghai and Tianjin and will eventually cater for over 100 million passengers a year.
The scalloped silhouette of the roof - the largest transparent roof in the world - is strongly inspired by the ‘Hall for Prayer for Good Harvests' in Beijing's Temple of Heaven.
Beijing South Railway Station is six kilometres from the Forbidden City and three kilometres west of the Temple of Heaven. 28 platform edges link with high-speed rail lines, local and regional services. The station is also a connection point for other forms of transport including, taxis, buses and cars.
The station's elliptical shape is designed around the people who will use it, with passenger flow, convenient interchanges, and connections top of mind. The station is open plan to allow generous views and ensure that transport links to the city centre are easily accessible.
The vast curvaceous roof will most impress visitors to the Beijing South Rail Station. Its scale is huge - up to 40 metres tall and between 350 and 500 metres wide - yet the roofs transparency provides a counterbalance to its size, giving the station a light, airy feel.
In a city transformed in advance of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, the new terminal stands out as a symbol of Beijing's cultural and political pre-eminence.