Beijing West railway station

Beijing West Railway Station - Beijing Xi - sits in the western Fengtai district. Built from 1993 and opened in 1996, it was briefly the largest railway station in Asia. Architecturally it is a textbook example of 1990s Beijing post-modernism: a massive block crowned by a classical Chinese double-tower roof in Forbidden City style, which critics often mock as a giant fake gate. Long-distance trains for central and southern China depart and arrive here daily; during the Chinese New Year travel weeks it handles millions of passengers. Most tourists simply pass through - the front plaza and the lit-up roof at night are still worth a look.