New exhibition recalls development history of Beijing sub-center

The Grand Canal Museum of Beijing Photo:Screenshot from online

The Beijing Urban Sub-Center Development Image Exhibition, named Die Bian, or Butterfly Change, opened on Monday at the newly opened eastern branch of the Capital Museum, the Grand Canal Museum of Beijing.

The exhibition focuses on the key milestones in the development of the Tongzhou district, the urban sub-center of Beijing that hosts functions beyond the capital's primary role, over the past decade from various perspectives.

The image exhibition is divided into four sections - Millennium Project, Water City Integration, A Distant Attraction and National Endeavor, and Vibrant Growth - comprehensively giving a panoramic view of its development history by utilizing videos, images, interactive installations and other display methods.

The opening event kicked off on Monday morning with a profound traditional Chinese music performance. The photographers have preserved the steps of its progress through imagery which are displayed during the exhibition. 

"The construction of the Beijing urban sub-center is a systematic project that requires the joint efforts and support of all parties," a representative of the construction company that built the Grand Canal Museum told the Global Times on Monday.

As 2024 is the 10th anniversary of the introduction of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei coordinated development strategy, the urban sub-center will launch a series of thematic promotional activities to comprehensively showcase the results of development. Among these, the Beijing Urban Sub-Center Development Image Exhibition is a crucial component of the thematic promotional activities. 

Preparation for the exhibition began in June 2023, with organizers collecting over 1,800 images and selecting more than 100 works to showcase the development of the urban sub-center.

In these visual narratives, not only is the construction of infrastructure and the opening of roads documented, but also the changes in the lives of sub-center residents over the past decade are revealed. Schools, hospitals, housing, and shopping were all faithfully recorded through the lens of photographers.

The Grand Canal Museum of Beijing, opened on December 27, 2023, is a captivating showcase of the Beijing section of China's UNESCO World Heritage site, the Grand Canal. With the concurrently unveiled art center and library nearby, these three architectural marvels are set to become new landmarks in eastern Beijing. They will serve functions beyond the capital's primary role, aiming for integrated and coordinated development of Beijing, Tianjin Municipality and Hebei Province.