On the morning of November 30, 2012, the Beijing Base (also known as the “Phoenix Project”) of the national protein science infrastructure (invested with 1.222 billion yuan) held a ground-breaking ceremony in the ZGC Life Science Park.  

 The “Phoenix Project”, headquartered in the ZGC Life Science Park, covers an area of 25,300 square meters, with the construction area of its research building as 37,300 square meters. It is scheduled to be completed in May, 2015.

According to the plan, the “Phoenix Project”, the Beijing Base of the National Protein Science Center, will consist of headquarter facilities (that will be constructed by the Academy of Military Medicine Sciences), the auxiliary facilities like freezing electro microscope and high-frequency nuclear magnetism (that will be built by Tsinghua University and Peking University) and the existing protein research platform of the Biophysics Institute of CAS.  Upon completion, the “Phoenix Project” will become the core base and research flagship in the field of protein science in the world.

In the building, different functional areas are designed according to the users’ needs. The protein research platform, with the proteome analysis system and protein structure analysis system and the protein function research system at its core and the bioinformatics and protein preparation system and other subsystem as its support, can provide more than 500 researchers with good research working conditions, academic exchange venues and comprehensive living services.

At the beginning of 2004, when China became the leader of the “International Human Liver Proteome Project”, the Academy of Military Medicine Sciences seized the historical opportunity and officially submitted the “Phoenix Project” plan to the National Development and Reform Commission.

In 2006, the state decided to build protein scientific infrastructure in Beijing and Shanghai.  Shanghai Institute of Life Sciences under CAS is responsible for the construction of Shanghai infrastructure (with an aggregated investment of 700 million yuan), which already started in Shanghai Zhangjiang Hi-tech Park in December, 2010.

As Beijing’s largest single building in the life science sector as well as the demonstration project of military and civilian integration in Beijing, the “Phoenix Project” will become an important demonstration window of Zhongguancun National Independent Innovation Demonstration Zone, actively promoting the development of strategic emerging industries in fields like biology in Beijing.