Visible Features A Beijing, China story
Cities
Beijing traditionally consisted of the square, walled Inner City and the rectangular, walled Outer City to its south. The walls no longer stand, but in their place the Second Ring Road now outlines the Inner City, and canals outline the Outer City. These and the outer Third Ring and Fourth Ring Roads are partly visible in the Landsat images.
The Capital Airport is the large runway complex northeast of the city. A new runway opened in 2007, and that expansion can be seen when comparing the 2000 and 2020 images. In 2000, the Capital Airport handled 21.7 million passengers. In 2011, it handled over 77 million passengers. In only 10 years, it moved from the 42nd busiest airport in the world to the 2nd busiest.
Location
June 17, 1977, Landsat 2 (path/row 132/32) — Beijing, China
May 2, 1983, Landsat 4 (path/row 123/32) — Beijing, China
Apr. 9, 1995, Landsat 5 (path/row 123/32) — Beijing, China
May 16, 2000, Landsat 7 (path/row 123/32) — Beijing, China
Apr. 29, 2020, Landsat 8 (path/row 123/32) — Beijing, China
Beijing, China Additional Imagery & Stories
Beijing's Growth
Beijing has grown and changed remarkably in the "reform era" since 1979, in its own distinct pattern. U.S. cities, for example, are often shaped like ...
Fangzhuang
One new building project that exemplifies some of these trends is visible southeast of Beijing. Fangzhuang is a new city of 78,000 where in 1984 only ...
More Details
Within the Inner City, the moats and walls of the Forbidden City (Imperial Palace Museum) are prominent, with Wu Gate at the southern end. Also within...