National Assembly Building (Beijing) Explained

National Assembly Building
Native Name:北京國會舊址
Location Town:Beijing
Location Country:China
Architect:Curt Rothkegel
Completion Date:1913

The National Assembly Building (北京国会旧址) is the first purpose-built meeting place of the National Assembly (國會, Guóhuì) of the Republic of China in Beijing. It was designed by Curt Rothkegel (1876-1945), a German architect based in Qingdao. Rothkegel had made earlier (and grander) designs for a Parliament Building commissioned by the late Qing Dynasty, whose construction was started in 1910 on the site of today's Beijing International Hotel on East Chang'an Avenue, but was left unfinished at the time of the Xinhai Revolution in 1911.[1] The building was used intermittently for sessions of the National Assembly during its troubled history from the aftermath of China's first national election to the Beijing Coup in October 1924.

The National Assembly Building is now part of the compound of Xinhua News Agency in central Beijing. Xinhua restored it and uses it for events. The Xinhua History Exhibition Hall, an in-house museum, is located in nearby Republican-era brick buildings. The National Assembly building is not open to the public.

References

  1. Web site: A Beijing That Isn't (Part I). China Heritage Quarterly. Sang Ye . Geremie R. Barmé . June 2008.

See also