Chinese & Japanese Towers, Brussels

On the northern corner of the royal park two monuments can be seen, which are rather unusual for Belgium, but nevertheless splendid. After his visit to the 1900 universal Exhibition in Paris King Leopold II decided to have his park embellished with exotic monuments. He ordered the Parisian architect Alexandre Marcel to construct the Chinese Pavilion. The woodwork was made by specialists from Shanghai.

After restoration works the building can now be visited and has been open to the public since 1913. On display are Chinese porcelain items from the 17th and 19th century.

Please take a look to my travelogue of The Chinese Pavilion where you can see more pictures from in and around it.

Together with the Chinese Pavillion this tower is made by order of King Leopold II as a result of the world exhibition in Paris in 1900. See the description of the Chinese Pavillion for more info.
The Tower opened its doors in the year 1911. Two years later, the Chinese Pavillion could be admired by the public.

Not so very far from the Atomium you can find two other buildings which are connected to the world exhibition. In the year 1900 it was held in Paris. King Leopold II was so impressed by the exotic buildings that he had seen there that he wanted to have similar ones constructed in Brussels.
He ordered the Parisian architect Alexandre Marcel to make his wish come true and to design the Chinese pavillion and the Japanese Tower.
The wood works of both structures is made by specialists from Yokohama and Shanghai. The Chinese Pavillion now harbours a small museum with Chinese porcelain and Japanese art on display.

Who would have thought you would find a beautiful Chinese Pavilion like this in Belgium? This was a very unexpected surprise. It is not far from The Atomium in the Heysel area of Brussels. The facade was carved in Shanghai. It houses a collection of porcelain from the late 17th to 19th century.

Following the Paris Universal Exhibition in 1900, King Leopold II decided to commence building-work on the Japonese Tower. Work was entrusted to the Parisian architect, Alexandre Marcel, known for his oriental style buildings. This tower is home to temporary exhibitions on various aspects of the Japonese art. Museum of Japonese art also located in this area.

1 more image

The Japanese Tower is just across the street from the Chinese pavillion and is accessed from that side (the chinese pavillion) a path leads under the street to the Japanese side

Visit the Chinese Tower just across from the Japanese Tower. The intricate architecture and interior design is well worth the visit. Plenty of gold here and oriental culture.

Japanese Tower & Chinese pavillion
Built to order for King Leopold II, they buildings strike an odd balance in otherwise gothic Brussels