Ties that give you a feeling of déjà vu

Official exchanges and cooperation between the two cities began when diplomatic relations were established between the People’s Republic of China and the Soviet Union in October 1949.

In the 1950s, as Beijing prepared to build its metro system, experts from Moscow came to help, sharing the experience they had gained from building and operating the Moscow Metro, which opened in 1935.

According to the Beijing Daily newspaper, Moscow engineers visited Beijing in 1956. Two years later, the Subway Design Institute was established, which later became the Beijing Urban Construction Design and Development Group. Many of the institute’s engineers were trained by Soviet specialists, and some studied subway engineering in the Soviet Union when Beijing’s system was being formed.

Fast forward more than 60 years and the influence is complete. Chinese elements can now be found in the Moscow metro. In 2016, the Beijing Urban Design and Development Group won a contract to design a section of the Moscow Metro, including three stations on a line more than 5 kilometers long.

Designed by the Beijing group and built by China Railway Construction Corporation, the section opened at the end of 2021. As a sign of gratitude, the newly built Michurinsky Prospekt station was designed with elements of Chinese culture.

The station’s platforms are dominated by red and feature plum blossoms and the “Eight Immortals”, figures from Chinese folklore and Taoism. The lamps depicted are decorated with auspicious clouds, and the suspended ceiling resembles a Chinese chessboard.

When Michurinsky Prospekt station opened, it quickly became a social media sensation, attracting Instagram users and influencers eager to capture the unique combination of Russian and Chinese aesthetics. The station is now called a new milestone in Sino-Russian friendship.

While subway systems may be the preserve of industry experts, for the average Beijing resident, the first thing that might come to mind when thinking about Moscow is a restaurant called Restaurant Moscow, known among locals as Lao Mo.