Beijing International Club, Diplomatic venue in Jianwai, China
The Beijing International Club is a diplomatic complex in the Jianwai area that spans multiple buildings offering residential apartments, conference rooms, restaurants, and recreational amenities. The entire facility is designed so business travelers and official delegations can find all necessary services in one location.
The club began in the late Qing dynasty near the French legation, was burned by Boxers on 23 June 1900, and was rebuilt on Taijichang Street to a design by German architect Curt Rothkegel, completed in 1912. In 1950 it was taken over and renamed Beijing International Club. A new complex on Jianguomenwai Avenue, designed under Wu Guanzhang, was completed in 1972 and opened in 1973.
The rebuilt club on Taijichang Street was known as the Xishen Zonghui and Wanguo Julebu, and the lane beside it was named Rue de Club. From 1957 its tennis courts hosted foreign teams, beginning with Sri Lanka's national team, and Zhou Enlai and He Long watched the matches. In the 1980s and 1990s ambassadors and dignitaries such as the US ambassador Winston Lord and Russian ambassador Igor Rogachev played at the indoor tennis hall.
The club sits on Jianguomenwai Dajie, bounded by Ritan Road, Xiushui Street and Xiushui North Street. Its 2015 reconstruction by Beijing Construction Engineering Group added a 99.9-metre tower with 23 above-ground and 3 basement floors. The tennis hall moved into the north podium's second floor, while the south podium reproduces the 1971 hall's facade.
The 1972 club building, with its yellow mosaic facade, white window frames and black mullions, was listed in Beijing's Excellent Modern Architecture protection list in 2007. Its indoor tennis hall, built with a 64-tonne steel space frame, was China's first publicly accessible indoor tennis venue.
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