China Millennium Monument

The China Millennium Monument is a massive sundial-shaped complex in Beijing's Haidian district, opened at the turn of the year 2000 as a state monument to welcome the new millennium. Stretching along the north-south axis between the Military Museum and Yuyuantan Park, the site covers 4.5 hectares and around 42,000 square metres of floor space. The architecture borrows the Chinese gnomon: a flat circular plaza with an inlaid bronze rail marks the passage of time, while a long ascending corridor carries a rotating steel pointer. Inside is the Millennium Art Museum with rotating exhibitions of Chinese and international art and a long bronze plaque listing every Chinese dynasty. The monument sees modest tourist traffic and is mainly worthwhile for travellers interested in Beijing's symbolic architecture of the reform era.