National People's Congress Building, Legislature headquarters in Xichang'anjie Subdistrict, Beijing, China.
The National People's Congress Building is a legislature headquarters in Xichang'anjie Subdistrict, Beijing, where China's national assembly conducts its work. The structure contains multiple session halls, administrative offices, and conference spaces arranged across its floors.
The National People's Congress had no dedicated office building for over 50 years; its first two sessions met in 1954 and 1959 at Zhongnanhai's Huairen Hall. In 1959 the southern part of the Great Hall of the People was set aside for the Congress's offices, and staff later worked scattered across several sites. Construction of this building began after a 2008 groundbreaking and was completed in November 2010, consolidating the offices; it won the 2011 Luban Prize.
The name plaque on the central column of the Great Hall's south entrance, reading "Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China," dates from Wan Li's term as chairman, when he pushed through measures to institutionalize the body. Inside the office building, a 23-metre white marble wall unveiled on 3 December 2012 carries the full text of the Constitution.
Entry to the facility is restricted and requires advance authorization through official channels. Visiting is challenging during the annual sessions from March to April, when security measures are heightened around the premises.
The building's site absorbed the former Beijing No. 29 Middle School, which traced its origin to National University founded by Sun Yat-sen and renamed China University in 1917; the school was demolished for construction. The China Agricultural and Industrial Bank's old building, a Beijing protected heritage site, was moved about 50 metres west and rotated 3 degrees clockwise, a 1,400-tonne relocation finished on 30 November 2008.
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