Beijing's sub-center will raise a number of new buildings - a theater, a library, and the east branch of Capital Museum - to join City Ruins Park as landmarks of Tongzhou district in 2022. The public facilities were recently added to the annual list of projects for improving people's wellbeing by the Beijing Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-rural Development. 

Totaling 97,000 square meters, the east branch of Capital Museum will comprise a display zone, a storage zone, a recreation zone, and a study and research zone. The architecture combines modern designs with elements of the ancient Grand Canal such as boats, sails, and water.  

The museum design draws lessons from many constructions in the past, a theme that had been extensively discussed during an international seminar in October organized by the Capital Museum and the Royal Ontario Museum of Canada. The drawback of integrated structures adopted by most modern museums is not being flexible enough for multiple displays of different opening hours. Thus a design of detached structure was proposed for the east branch of Capital Museum. Two separate sections - the visitor zone and the main building - will be connected by passages above and below ground. The visitor zone will be a versatile space for permanent exhibition, public education, visitor service, and cultural and creative activities. It will also be equipped with supporting facilities such as screening rooms, conference halls, and food services. Meanwhile, most temporary exhibitions will take place in the main building. Everything can be adjusted easily to suit special occasions such as holidays or popular exhibitions.  

Apart from the conventional enclosed displaying space, the east branch of Capital Museum will also have semi-enclosed space, breezeway, and outdoor space for exhibitions, offering excellent opportunities for curating more distinctive and contemporary shows. In addition, preservation work of cultural relics will be more accessible to public viewing to raise awareness of these traditionally behind-the-scenes efforts. The museum will also be equipped with 5G and AI technologies.  

The other two new landmarks of Beijing's sub-center are expected to be equally impressive. The Sub-center Library, with a total construction area of 75,000 square meters, will feature extensive collections of intangible cultural heritages, canal cultures, ancient literatures, documents of featured art, as well as book collections of renowned scholars. The Sub-center Theatre, covering 120,000 square meters, comprises a concert hall, an opera house, a drama theatre, a multi-functional hall, and supporting facilities.

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