Beijing's pursuit of ‘world-class’ city status is vertical in direction. From the International Finance Center (IFC) and Chinese Central Television (CCTV) towers to the multitude of luxury apartment blocks, Beijing continues to thrust itself skyward as if trying to shed its nickname ‘the big pancake’ (Wang 2003: 31). The verticality of development and showcasing of buildings by internationally recognized architects is evident in the wildly popular government-funded TV show about routing out political corruption In the Name of the People (人民的名义, 2017). Episode 1's establishing shots focus on the Olympic Bird's Nest, the Water Cube, the CCTV Tower, and the IFC tower, demonstrating that through this spectacularly transformed and carefully managed skyline, Beijing has garnered prestige (mianzi 面子, literally, ‘face’) for itself and metonymically for the entire nation-state (Broudehoux 2004: 29-30). However, it must be noted that this prestige is formulated according to criteria of the international neo-liberal city, criteria that are exploitative and elitist, and that aim to attract global investment capital and the hyper-mobile bodies rather than privileging the local citizenry's needs and living conditions. Hence, the eyes of citizens and visitors are drawn up to the shiny new buildings and invited to linger on the carefully crafted urban spectacles orchestrated to position Beijing as ‘a showcase of China's contemporary material and cultural achievements and represent the country's window to the outside world’ (Broudehoux 2004: 37).