A directive issued by the Chinese authorities on Feb. 21 now confirms what President Xi Jinping hinted at in 2014: the quirky, avant-garde buildings that proliferate Chinese skylines are no longer welcome.
Prominent and oft-ridiculed examples in Beijing include the so-called “Bird’s Nest” stadium, the “Big Boxer Shorts” China Central Television headquarters, and the phallus-like headquarters of People’s Daily, the Communist Party mouthpiece.
A general view of the China National Stadium, also known as Bird's Nest, in Beijing, on June 30, 2015. Lintao Zhang/Getty Images
