Category Archives: science

Architecture, beijing, china, Leisure, Light Painting, Maverick, Night Run, planetarium, science, science museum, urbex

SPACE & SCIENCE MUSEUM – BEIJING – GRADE B-

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Just a stone’s throw from The World Trade Towers and right next to An Hua Qiao Subway Station is the derelict site of Beijing Space and Science Museum.

Beijing Space Science Museum

Along with the Planetarium and the The Natural History Museum nearby in the compound, all of these buildings are due for demolition soon.

Beijing Planetarium

Crimson Rooftop

The Space Museum has recently been abandoned by the security guards which makes entering much easier than before.

Nice Curves

The museum is spread over nine floors, and the sixth floor opens out onto this awesome roof area affording some great views of the local area.

Antennae

Unfortunately most of the building has been gutted, but there are a few exhibits remaining in a few hidden corners.

Planetarium from Above

It is also very easy to get lost in the maze-like basement, but there are some great rooms to be found.

Roof Ramp

There are lots of bottles and specimens on display and in storage within the building.

Pink Specimen 2

One of the best features of the museum is the display about how ancient mines were dug.

Camp Fire

Manikins of the miners are still down there in the dark gathered around their little fires.

Mining in the Dark Two

Mining in the Dark

Light Painting 2

The museum also has a great number of open spaces which are ideal for light-painting.

Light Painting 1

Pink Floyd Tribute

The central roof is made of glass panels which from the atrium below looks magnificent.

Ceiling Three

Ceiling Two

Ceiling One

Computers are our frields

Specimen Jar

Like a lot of buildings in Beijing, it was built in the run-up to the Olympics and then just abandoned after the finish of the games. This is a relatively easy place to get into, and there is a lot to see, which is why this earns itself a hearty B-.

beijing, china, science, urbex

SATELLITE DISH NURSERY – BEIJING – GRADE C+

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Out in the bleak wastelands of northwest Beijing, where everything is gray and demolished, there lies the Satellite Dish Nursery.

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Any foreigner that has taken the hellish journey to the health centre to get their health check/stabbing with hypodermic needles, will recognise this view from the taxi ride.

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The compound, while guarded by lazy looking military personnel, houses probably fifty or more satellite dishes, all in various stages of rustiness.

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Adjacent to the site, is the greenhouse area, which is much easier to get into. It is a strange thing in a lot of Chinese cities, that military and government sites will have greenhouses nearby.

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This is mostly so that they can boast a) self-sufficiency for food, and b) that food can also be grown within the city limits.

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This idea has gone out of vogue in the last ten years, and Beijing has a lot of empty greenhouses all over the city.

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Cold winter air blows through the broken plastic canopies and leaves the crops dead and wilting.

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The greenhouses are all falling down and very simple to get into. They offer a little warmth from the freezing Beijing winter.

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This was not a difficult explore, but damn it was cold in that snow. Burbex is giving Satellite Dish Nursery a C+ Grade. It would have been much more if I could have climbed on the satellite dishes themselves.

If you liked this, check out these other great posts like Sunshine Park and also Beijing Space& Science Museum, plus if you ever want to come along, just send me an email on burbex@outlook.com.