CCTV Headquarters

Designed by Rem Koolhaas's OMA and completed in 2012, the China Central Television Headquarters is two leaning L-shaped towers joined at the top and bottom by 75-meter cantilevered structures, forming a continuous Möbius-like loop. Locals call it 'Big Pants' (大裤衩) for the obvious silhouette; engineers call it one of the most structurally innovative skyscrapers in the world. Interior is closed to the public (it's a working broadcast facility), but the exterior is the photo. Best vantage points: from Guomao Bridge to the south at dusk, or from the Park Hyatt's top-floor bar across the CBD for a downwards angle. The whole CBD around it — including the IFC Tower and China Zun, Beijing's tallest building at 528m — is a 1-hour walk through Beijing's most assertive modern architecture. Combine with a meal at Sanlitun, 10 minutes north.