China’s economy might be slowing a bit, but it is still in relative boomtimes, growing at a rate of 7.5% in 2014. The last decade has thus seen development happening at astounding rates, including speculative projects that were never really necessary, or perhaps will not be necessary for many years. In addition to ghost towns, this environment also blossoms ecstatic mega-projects that inspire us with their creativity, such as replicas of other cities around the world, suburban homes on top of housing blocks, floating corporate headquarters, and an endless string of over-the-top architecture that illustrates the greatness that humans can achieve when given the economic fuel to do whatever they can dream.
China has always had a thing for mega-projects, from the Great Wall to the Three Gorges Dam. While the president says “no more weird architecture,” these insane mega-projects are perfectly acceptable. Here’s what China has been cooking up.
Image via www.dznworld.com
Tallest Building
Designed by UK-based Chetwoods Architects, the 1km Phoenix Towers in Wuhan would be the tallest in the world, eclipsing Dubai’s Burj Khalifa by 564 feet in Dubai and the Kingdom Tower in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Largest Solar Building
This semi-circular, 807,000-square-foot office building in Dezhou, China, is totally powered by the solar panels on the roof.
Image via thediplomat.com
“New Silk Road”
Along with 32 other countries, China will rebuild part of the ancient Silk Road as modern transport networks connecting Europe and Asia.
Image via Wikipedia Commons
Longest Bay Bridge
The Hangzhou Bay Bridge is 22 miles and has been the longest sea bridge since its completion in 2007.
Image via Wikipedia Commons
Largest Wind Farm
The Gansu Wind Farm is located near the northwestern city of Jiuquan in Guazhou county. It cost $18.2 billion, and is expected to have all construction phases completed in 2020.
Image via thedesignair.net
Largest Airport
Zaha Hadid has designed a new passenger terminal in Beijing, which will handle 45 million flyers a year. It is an addition to the Foster-designed Capital Airport, completed in 2008.
Image via tripandtravelblog.com
Largest Building
New Century Global Centre, the “largest man-made structure in the world” was completed in 2013 in Chengdu. It is approximately 18.2 million square feet.
Image via inhabitat.com
Half-Built Manhattan
This $50 billion replica of Manhattan’s Financial District was aborted in 2009 after the financial crisis. It would have included a Hudson River and a Rockefeller Center.