Switzerland, CBD Style: A New Bar Street Going up Along the Tonghui River

Who says Beijing doesn't have "stunning European architecture"? Our fair city certainly has its share of kitsch, but this development along the banks of the Tonghui River just south of Dawang Qiao takes the cake.

Modeled after the Alpine Swiss town of Interlaken, the "Tonghui International Bar Street" (通惠国际酒吧街) has been under construction for well over a year now, with its iconic bell tower just visible behind the large metal walls that, until yesterday, surrounded the development. Now that part of the scaffolding has been removed, we were able to walk around the perimeter for a peek.

Walking along the north side of the development (adjacent to the south bank of the Tonghui River just south of Soho Xiandaicheng), we spotted a few tell-tale signs of the kinds of venues that may be housed within - though it was difficult to tell whether or not these were actual store signs or merely "mock-ups" (we're guessing it's the latter).

Intriguing storefronts aside, we also noticed a number of rather interesting murals that seem to be a mishmash of European themes - from Italian Renaissance and Greek mythology, to Parisian bordellos and Biblical themes.

And this "Boticelli-esque" rendering:

We tried speaking with a few security guards to get an idea of when, exactly, the street was expected to open and what kind of tenants there might be, but were met with the usual "bu zhi dao" ("I don't know") replies. Based on this site, the bar street appears to be part of the Chaoyang District Planning Commission's RMB 400 million investment in a "Tonghui International Plaza" development to complement the nearby CCTV Tower complex - the project encompasses an area of almost 12,000sqm and includes a media complex (also currently under construction) and the 6,000sqm "European Fashion Street."

The place reminds me of all the Russian-style architecture in Beidaihe we saw when vacationing there last year; and judging from the earnestly reproduced architecture in this project, our dear city planners took a few things aside from expensive handbags and Swiss watches back to Beijing from all those official European junkets.

How this thing will turn out is anybody's guess, but we'll be sure keep you updated in the coming months.

Photos: Jerry Chan