Beijing Military City: China’s Command Complex 10 Times the Pentagon
U.S. officials say China is building a 1,500-acre command complex southwest of Beijing, ten times the Pentagon’s size. Beijing has not confirmed it.
Key Takeaways5 things to know
- U.S. officials say a construction site of about 1,500 acres in Beijing’s Fangshan district will become a wartime command center for China’s military.
- Current and former U.S. officials say the site would be at least ten times the Pentagon’s size, and intelligence analysts nicknamed it Beijing Military City.
- Deep excavations, tunnels and reinforced concrete led former U.S. intelligence officials to assess the site could shelter leaders in a war, including a nuclear one.
- China has never officially confirmed the project, and its embassy in Washington said only that it was not aware of the details.
- Satellite images from January to May 2026 show roofs going up and fewer cranes, which suggests some construction phases may be nearing completion.
China is building a vast, partly underground military complex about 30 kilometers southwest of Beijing that current and former U.S. officials describe as a future wartime command center at least ten times the size of the Pentagon. Beijing has not acknowledged the project, and satellite imagery from 2026 shows construction is still underway.
What is being built
Satellite images first published in January 2025 showed a construction site with deep pits that military experts assessed would hold large, hardened bunkers.[1] Several current and former U.S. officials said the intelligence community was closely monitoring the site.[1] A former National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency imagery analyst counted about 100 cranes working on several underground facilities linked by tunnels.[2]
One China researcher who viewed the images said the site had heavily reinforced concrete and deep underground tunneling, calling these “all the hallmarks of a sensitive military facility.”[1] Reporters who visited found no visible military presence, but signs banned drones and photography, and guards refused entry.[3] Nearby hiking trails were also closed to the public, according to later reporting.[5]
The name “Beijing Military City” did not come from Chinese or U.S. officials on the record. Three people familiar with the matter said some intelligence analysts had given the project that nickname.[1] Comparisons to the Pentagon refer to the site’s size, not to any confirmed role as China’s defense headquarters.[1]
Location and scale
The site is in and around Xishifu, a small village in Beijing’s Fangshan district, about 30 kilometers southwest of the city center.[3] Some reports place it in the Qinglonghu (Qinglong Lake) area of the same district.[4][7]
The construction footprint covers about 1,500 acres, or roughly 6 square kilometers.[1] A 2026 imagery review gave a larger estimate of about 7.4 square kilometers, a figure that has not been independently confirmed.[7] The work zone stretches across roughly 4 to 5 kilometers.[2][5]
The start date is disputed. Imagery reviewed in the first January 2025 report put the start of major construction in mid-2024.[1] A European newspaper’s own review of Copernicus imagery dated the start to late 2023, matching online posts that month about village demolitions in Fangshan.[3] Commercial imagery shows open land and housing in 2022 and new roads and tunnels by June 2024.[5]
Purpose and command role
No government has officially stated what the facility is for. A former senior U.S. intelligence official said China’s main secure command center was in the Western Hills, northeast of the new site, and dates from the Cold War.[1] The same official said the new site’s “size, scale and partially buried characteristics” suggest it will replace the Western Hills complex as the primary wartime command facility.[1]
A former head of China analysis at the CIA said that, if confirmed, the bunker would serve military leaders including Xi Jinping as chairman of the Central Military Commission.[1] An Asia Society analyst wrote that the deep bunkering pointed “with almost certainty” to a nuclear command-and-control role.[4] A Taiwanese researcher offered a different reading, saying the site could be an administrative center or a large training base.[6]
The nuclear link is therefore an assessment, not a confirmed fact. The U.S. 2025 China military power report does not mention the site.[9] That report does say China’s warhead stockpile was in the low 600s through 2024 and on track to exceed 1,000 by 2030.[9] It also says China probably made progress in 2024 toward an “early warning counterstrike” capability, similar to launch on warning.[9]
Domestic Affairs
Not applicable beyond the local effects already described: the site cleared villages and farmland, and Chinese media have not reported on it.
War Crimes and Civilian Harm
Allegations are attributed; findings are not established unless stated.
Not applicable: no harm to civilians has been reported in connection with the site.
Statements by Officials
United States
| Speaker | Statement | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Former senior U.S. intelligence official (unnamed) | “The size, scale and partially buried characteristics of the new facility suggest it will replace the Western Hills complex as the primary wartime command facility.”[1] | Jan 31, 2025 |
| Dennis Wilder, former head of China analysis, CIA | “If confirmed, this new advanced underground command bunker for the military leadership, including President Xi … signals Beijing’s intent to build not only a world-class conventional force but also an advanced nuclear warfighting capability.”[1] | Jan 31, 2025 |
| Office of the Director of National Intelligence | Declined to comment.[1] | Jan 31, 2025 |
No current U.S. official has commented on the site by name, and it is not mentioned in the December 2025 China report to Congress.[9]
China
| Speaker | Statement | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Chinese Embassy in Washington | Said it was “not aware of the details” and that China was “committed to the path of peaceful development and a defence policy that is defensive in nature.”[1] | Jan 31, 2025 |
| Ministry of Foreign Affairs / Ministry of National Defense | No public statement found. The Ministry of National Defense was asked for comment by a U.S. magazine; no reply was reported.[6] | 2025 |
2026 developments
Planet imagery taken from January 6 to April 1, 2026, showed concrete structures being finished and roofs going on over several central blocks.[7] The number of cranes dropped noticeably in the April 1 image, which may mean some construction work is nearing completion.[7] A comparison of January 2023 and May 19, 2026 images showed villages and farmland replaced by large concrete buildings and open courtyards.[7] A Russian science site, citing Planet imagery, reported that work continued at a fast pace in June 2026; that report is unconfirmed.[8]
What to Watch
- Whether the 2026 China military power report to Congress mentions the site.
- New commercial imagery showing finished buildings, entrances or communications equipment.
- Any statement on the site from China’s Ministry of National Defense or Foreign Ministry.
- Signs of the site entering service before the PLA’s 2027 goal year, set out in the 2025 report.[9]
Geography & Strategic Position
The site lies about 30 kilometers southwest of central Beijing, close to the capital and its political leadership.[3] A former U.S. intelligence official placed the Western Hills complex to its northeast, leaving both command sites within about 30 kilometers of the capital.[1][3]
Military & Security
Former U.S. intelligence officials assess that the site could protect commanders against U.S. “bunker buster” munitions and even nuclear weapons.[1] The 2025 China report says the PLA is working toward 2027 goals that include “strategic counterbalance” against the United States in the nuclear domain.[9]
Alliances & Diplomatic Networks
China has given no official account of the site, and the only response on record came from its embassy in Washington.[1] Washington has also kept quiet: the director of national intelligence declined to comment, and the 2025 report to Congress leaves the site out.[1][9]
Economic & Industrial Power
The project’s scale is visible from space. More than 100 cranes were working at once in early 2025, and villages and farmland were cleared.[3][7] No cost figure has been published by any government or credible source.
Technology & Critical Infrastructure
A former U.S. intelligence official said a new facility could include more advanced and secure communications and leave room for expanding PLA missions.[1] The 2025 China report says Chinese early-warning satellites can reportedly send a missile-launch alert to a command center within three to four minutes.[9]
Domestic Politics & Information
Chinese government websites and local media do not mention the project.[2][3] Online discussion is heavily censored, and the only public explanation found was an unofficial forum reply that described the demolitions as urban renewal.[3]
Strategic Leverage & Outcomes
If it is completed as a hardened command center, the site would affect how U.S. planners weigh strikes on Chinese leadership, according to the assessments of former officials.[1] For U.S. interests, the key question is whether China’s command system is becoming harder to target as its warhead count grows past 600.[9]
Strategic assessment
- Relative advantage
- China gains a modern, deeply buried command site, if the U.S. assessments are correct.[1]
- Critical vulnerability
- The site’s location and extent are now publicly mapped from commercial imagery.[3][7]
- Decisive uncertainty
- No government has confirmed its function, and one researcher disputes the command-center reading.[6]
- Likely trajectory
- Imagery shows roofing and fewer cranes in 2026, which suggests some phases are nearing completion.[7]
- Strategic outcome
- Not yet determinable from open sources.
Analysis by Peter’s World using the Seven Lenses framework. Numbered notes link to the footnotes at the end of this report. Scores, where shown, are judgments, not measurements.
Additional sources
- Soar Atlas, Sentinel-2 construction time-lapse, August 2022 to August 2025: https://soaratlas.com/maps/asia-china-construction-of-china-s-military-city-2022-to-2025-136395
- Australian Financial Review (syndicated), “China building ‘doomsday’ command 10 times bigger than the Pentagon,” Jan 31, 2025: https://www.afr.com/world/asia/china-builds-doomsday-command-10-times-bigger-than-the-pentagon-20250131-p5l8m4
Footnotes
- [1] Financial Times report, Jan 31, 2025, citing current and former U.S. officials and satellite imagery; read via full-text reproduction at https://postofasia.com/china-builds-huge-new-wartime-military-command-centre-in-beijing/ (original also syndicated at https://www.afr.com/world/asia/china-builds-doomsday-command-10-times-bigger-than-the-pentagon-20250131-p5l8m4).
- [2] The Telegraph, “China building world’s largest military command centre – 10 times bigger than Pentagon,” Jan 31, 2025: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/01/31/china-building-largest-military-command-centre-in-world/
- [3] Neue Zürcher Zeitung, “Seen from space: Satellite images suggest construction of secret Chinese military complex,” Feb 18, 2025: https://www.nzz.ch/english/seen-from-space-secret-military-building-site-near-beijing-ld.1871141
- [6] Newsweek, “New Satellite Photos Show China Building Doomsday City,” 2025 (quotes Hsu Yen-chi, Council on Strategic and Wargaming Studies): https://www.newsweek.com/satellite-photos-china-building-doomsday-city-11002952
- [7] Al Jazeera Arabic, open-source unit, Planet Labs imagery review, May 20, 2026: https://www.aljazeera.net/news/2026/5/20/مدينة-عسكرية-قرب-بكين-صور-ترصد-توسع
- [9] U.S. Department of War, “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China 2025,” Dec 23, 2025: https://media.defense.gov/2025/Dec/23/2003849070/-1/-1/1/ANNUAL-REPORT-TO-CONGRESS-MILITARY-AND-SECURITY-DEVELOPMENTS-INVOLVING-THE-PEOPLES-REPUBLIC-OF-CHINA-2025.PDF
Show 3 more sources
- [4] Newsweek, “Timelapse Shows China’s Wartime Command Site 10 Times Larger Than Pentagon,” 2025: https://www.newsweek.com/china-beijing-command-center-us-pentagon-satellite-photos-2026545 ; and Newsweek, “China Is Building Something Huge,” 2025: https://www.newsweek.com/satellite-photo-china-military-command-center-beijing-2068909
- [5] Business Insider, “China Is Building a New Military Headquarters Near Beijing, See Photos,” April 2025: https://www.businessinsider.com/china-military-command-center-satellite-photos-2025-4
- [8] Naked Science (community post, unconfirmed), 2026: https://naked-science.ru/community/1209788
