Massive Underground Shopping Center Planned Beneath the Canal District

You might think that you don’t have much reason to visit Tongzhou, besides, of course, for a nice day trip to go see the canal. And, for the time being, you might be right. But in the near(-ish) future, you might find yourself taking a trip to the eastern district in order to visit one of the world’s biggest “underground cities.”

This morning, local media has been abuzz with the release of draft plans for a 3-square-kilometer underground business district that would go a long way to making Tongzhou the central urban hub that we’ve been promised.  

Will there really be a massive underground shopping center beneath the Canal Business District? If not, it wouldn’t be the first time a major project has been abandoned in this city. In fact, it wouldn’t be the first time plans for a major underground shopping center have been abandoned. But if so, then it sounds like it’s going to be actually pretty cool.

The plans depict a massive underground space, connected to the above-ground world through more than a dozen passageways. divided into three sections, each connected by corridors. The center’s divided structure is a result of varied ownership, allowing clear demarcations of who owns which area.

Those three sections are then divided into 52 plots that will host shopping, dining, apartments, offices, and hotels. Of course, there will be a massive parking lot as well, but you won’t need a car to get there – it will be easily accessible from Line 6 for inner-ring dwellers, so you won’t ever have to glance at above-ground Tongzhou.

For current Tongzhou residents, the center will fill an important role that we city-slickers take for granted – a place where shopping, dining, commuting, and in some cases, living, can all take place at once. The difference – and what may make the center attractive to outsiders – is that it will be a whole lot bigger than anything in Beijing proper.

READ: Last of the Tall Towers: The Tianjin CTF Finance Centre

Images: UNSPLASH, Leju