Beijing is one thirsty city. Its population of 22 million consumes barely 100 cubic meters of water per capita—one fifth the international water-shortage level—thanks to a chronic drought in the nation’s north. But this massive desalination plant could help supply a third of the city’s water singlehandedly.
China’s debilitating smog problem isn’t anything new at this point—at least for its residents. Tourists to Beijing, however, are still struggling
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This stunning image of a crowded, multi-layered library is not the work of M.C. Escher. It’s actually the National Library of China in Beijing, as featured in Travel 365. The library looks big because it is big: the fifth largest in the world, in fact, with over 24 million items in 1.8 million square feet. [National Geographic Travel]
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Beijing’s smog, the West’s drought, Alaska’s avalanche, and everybody’s cigarettes are part of this week’s landscape reads.
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Man, do we love talking at how much China’s air
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In Tiananmen Square in Beijing, there’s a lot of smog. So much smog, in fact, that a huge LED screen is sometimes used to display a beautiful sunrise—which is useful, because you can’t see it otherwise.
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Dutch artist Daan Roosegaarde has designed everything from smart highways for the United Kingdom
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At first glance, The Beautiful Future—a series of paintings made in Pyongyang, North Korea—looks like standard propaganda fare: Happy citizens, lush farmlands, and bustling industry. Except something’s amiss: In the background of each painting stands an iconic piece of Beijing architecture—from the CCTV building to the Olympic Water Cube.
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This expansive stone mansion—known Chaonei No. 81—is an architectural anomaly in Beijing. Once a church, then a home, today the building stands out for its ornate Baroque style, yet it lies in decay. Why? Because it’s probably haunted, and no one wants to go near it.
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