Xicheng District

The National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) , and colloquially described as The Bird's Egg, is an opera house in Beijing, China. The Centre, an ellipsoid dome of titanium and glass surrounded by an artificial lake, seats 5,452 people in three halls and is almost 12,000 m² in size. It was designed by French architect Paul Andreu. Construction started in December 2001 and the inaugural concert was held in December 2007.

角楼则是故宫建筑群极具特点的建筑，坐落在故宫的四个城角之处。故宫角楼下就是故宫护城河，河中的倒影与角楼交相呼应，成为一道靓丽的风景线。

Corner towers on the four coigns of lofty walls of the Forbidden City were established in 1420, rebuilt in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). As one part of the Forbidden City, they served as the defense facility just as the lofty walls, the gate towers and the moat. The corner towers rest on the base with Buddist-style building surrounded with stone columns.

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Type L for the large view.

The National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) (simplified Chinese: 国家大剧院; literally: National Grand Theatre), and colloquially described as The Egg, is an opera house in Beijing, People's Republic of China. The Centre, an ellipsoid dome of titanium and glass surrounded by an artificial lake, seats 5,452 people in three halls and is almost 12,000 m² in size. It was designed by French architect Paul Andreu. Construction started in December 2001 and the inaugural concert was held in December 2007 (source: Wikipedia)

My Dear Friends, I am back from Beijing, unfortunately I did not have much time for blue hour photography. I managed to get that one, as well as a shot of the Olympic Stadium which will follow.

I will try to catch up with your streams before I fly to another destination next week! :-)

The Forbidden City, viewed from Jingshan Hill to the south

The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. It is located in the middle of Beijing, China, and now houses the Palace Museum. For almost 500 years, it served as the home of emperors and their households, as well as the ceremonial and political center of Chinese government.f