Germany's new embassy building in Beijing will be officially opened today to celebrate German Unity Day, the anniversary of reunification eight years ago.
The 85 million mark (HK$398 million) beige brick edifice is the latest landmark in the Sanlitun diplomatic district.
The building's design, inspired by a traditional Chinese courtyard house, has been panned by the German press because it looks like a barracks.
But the Germans will be happy having an embassy on a corner plot. Countries which have only recently established diplomatic relations with China - such as South Africa, Israel and South Korea - are confined to cramped office buildings.
In the former Czechoslovak embassy, Czechs and Slovaks operate separate offices, but battle with each other for access to recreational facilities.
The huge Japanese ambassador's residence is the flagship project in a new diplomatic area near the third ring road. But plans to move Tokyo's embassy to ground already acquired at the same site have been stalled because of Japan's financial problems.