Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Participants in the 7th World Media Summit, taking place in Beijing from 5 to 9 November 2026, visited three cultural landmarks in the Chinese capital: the 798 Art Zone, Beijing Library and the Grand Canal Museum.
The summit is jointly organised by Xinhua News Agency and the Beijing Municipal People’s Government. Around 500 delegates representing nearly 330 media organisations, think tanks, government agencies and other organisations are attending the event, held under the theme “Media in the AI Era: From Consensus to Action”.
The first stop on the itinerary was the 798 Art Zone in Beijing’s Chaoyang district. The cultural district covers approximately 300,000 square metres and occupies the site of the former 718 Joint Factory complex, which specialised in electronics manufacturing.
The industrial buildings, characterised by Bauhaus-style architecture, now house art galleries, studios, cafes and designer shops.
The art zone contains around 500 galleries, studios and cultural venues. Admission to the area itself is free, although tickets or advance registration may be required for individual exhibitions.
The delegates then visited Beijing Library, also known as the “Forest Library”. The building covers approximately 75,000 square metres and is constructed beneath a wide roof resembling ginkgo leaves.
The library has a capacity of 8 million books and can accommodate around 2,400 visitors at a time. Its central space, featuring terraces and bookshelves, is designed to allow readers to spend extended periods there.
The programme concluded with a visit to the Grand Canal Museum in Tongzhou district. Its permanent exhibition features more than 1,000 historical relics and works of art arranged across eight chronological sections.
The museum complex covers approximately 99,700 square metres and includes a 270-metre-long water street.
The exhibition explores the role of the Grand Canal in Beijing’s development, including the transportation of grain and goods, the movement of people and cultural exchange.
The waterway is presented not only as transport infrastructure but also as one of the factors that contributed to the city’s development as a capital.
The itinerary gave delegates an opportunity to explore different aspects of Beijing, from the transformation of a former industrial site into a contemporary art centre to the development of public infrastructure and the historical legacy of the Grand Canal.
