Subway Art: the Murals of Beijing's Subway Line 8

First opened in 2008, Line 8 is a north-south running line with key stops at Olympic Park, Olympic Sports Center and the National Art Museum. A section running southbound from Zhushikou Station was later introduced in 2018, but the entire line wasn’t fully connected until the end of 2021 when three new stations -- Qianmen, Wangfujing and Jinyu Hutong -- were opened.

Unlike Line 2, which only has a few stations featuring murals, the vast majority of Line 8’s stations feature some kind of art (and it's not just limited to the platforms).

瀛海站  Yíngtài Zhàn

The southernmost terminus of Line 8 features a single mural near an escalator by painter Zhu Tiechuan, who was born in Yingtai. The vast piece depicts the siloette of an elk cut from the leaf of a tree, with light shades of blue and swifts flitting about in the upper part of the piece.

五福堂站  Wǔfútáng Zhàn

As with most stations along Line 8, the murals here will be found when headed to or from the station exits, as is the case of this mural titled “Five Blessings”.

Matching with the name of the station -- which translates to five blessings in English -- it features three circular murals within the larger piece. Each of these is meant to depict one of the five blessings from the Book of Documents, a book of speeches and conversations compiled around the time of Confucius, namely: longevity, wealth, health, good virtue, and a peaceful end.

火箭万源站  Huǒjiàn Wànyuán Zhàn

Huojian Wanyuan -- aka Rocket Academy Station -- is named as such due to it’s proximity to the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (and, to a lesser extent, the China Aerospace Museum). Thus, here you’ll find a mural featuring a number of China’s rockets like the Long March and others.

海户屯站  Hǎihùtún Zhàn

This station sits close to where horses were allegedly raised for the imperial family, thus there’s a mural featuring horses to be found here. What sets it apart, though, is its use of traditional colors and elements, like red, green, white, with engraved seals featuring prominently on the white horses.

木樨园站  Mùxīyuán Zhàn

With a whole lot of imperial horses to feed, a whole lot of feed is required, and this feed came from what is today muxiyuan (which roughly translates to sweet clover garden). The murals here have taken the garden aspect to heart. As you walk through the station, it’s as if you’re an ant walking through a large patch of grass with mushrooms, insects and more afoot.

珠市口站  Zhūshìkǒu Zhàn

The final stop before the newer sections of Line 8, Zhushikou is named after a pig market that originally marked this spot. As if not wanting to commemorate that memory, the murals here instead depict hutong structures and street life.

READ: Subway Art: the Murals of Beijing's Subway Line 2

Images: Uni You