Wow! To me, this is a must see museum! But thats because I have a degree in civil engineering and a minor in geography. Even if you don’t have a background in architecture, urban planning, geography, or environmental studies this museum is still worth seeing. There’s an area that describes Beijing’s transportation system and the technologies used to support the transportation system. Intelligent Transportation Systems technologies are used throughout the city to support the transportation kiosks, congestion management, taxi cab management, etc. What a challenge since Beijing increased vehicle ownership from 1.5 million in the year 2000 to 2.5 million in the year 2005. There’s also a section that describes the changes in building codes throughout the decades in Beijing and the new technologies employed to save energy. Solar hot water heaters are used throughout the city as well as green roofs. Building materials have changed over the years as well to improve energy efficientcy. Another section describes the water supply and treatment systems. Cleanups of the rivers around Beijing have happened in recent years. This water supply exhibit features a large lit up map of the Beijing water supply system on the floor of the museum. The museum also features a 4D and a 3D movie which requires additional entrance fee. The 4D movie was rather short and features seats that move to simulate riding through a futuristic transportation system. Don’t worry, the ride isn’t that violent and won’t make you queasy at all although that was our original concern. The main feature of the museum is the enormous scale model of Beijing. The model was created with incredible detail. The sections of Beijing that are not in the model are displayed on the floor panels as aerial photographs. The model’s lighting simulates the daily rising and setting of the sun. The roof blinds open to simulate daylight and then close to simulate night. During the night simulation, the city’s lights come alive. As you stand over the model you feel like you are in a plane looking down on the real thing. There are other scale models of the new Beijing downtown area as well as the Forbidden City too. One interesting model is actually a wall hanging made of bronze that is of Old Beijing and features the historic Hutong neighborhoods and the old city wall. How different it must have been back then! The museum also has a lot of interactive features. Basically, I can’t describe it all here so just don’t forget to stop by when you are in Beijing. Connected to the museum is the Gateway to British Columbia exhibit. Canada? I thought it kind of random but then found that its sort of a prelude to the 2010 Winter Olympics. We got to see the new 2010 Olympic mascots. See the pictures below!