Subway Line 8 Carves Its Place in the Capital

Beijing’s insatiable wrecking balls are swinging again, with the demolition of a short strip of bars at the southern end of Nanluogu Xiang – ironically right opposite a plaque proclaiming the hutong’s heritage value. Step onto Di'anmen Dongdajie a few meters south and you’ll see several buildings across the road have also come down, as well as a swathe to the east.

The relatively modest incursion into Nanluogu Xiang, however, is nothing compared to the destruction along Jiugulou Dajie, just south of Gu Lou subway station. Several blocks of hutongs have already been flattened, with many other abandoned homes forlornly awaiting the wreckers. Ominous blue hoardings also stretch several hundred meters down Jiugulou Dajie in the direction of the Bell and Drum Towers.

It’s all part of the new subway line 8 due to open next year, which will see the short route under the Olympic Green extended south to Gu Lou and Hou Hai, before swinging east and terminating near the National Art Museum of China. A northern extension will link up with Line 13. You can take a look at the route, and many other planned lines here.

The Gu Lou works seem a little large for a just humble subway station, and at least one report has suggested the leveling is also part of a broader street widening project. Notices plastered on walls in the area only mention the Line 8 construction.

Either way, it’s great to see Beijing’s subway growing apace, but it’s shame so many old buildings had come down when the ugly modern structures on the western side of Jiugulou Dajie remain standing.