BEIJING - Step aside Dubai. China now has what is billed as the world’s largest building - a vast, wavy rectangular box of glass and steel that will house shops, hotels, offices and a replica ocean beach with a huge video screen for video sunsets.
The mammoth New Century Global Center that opened last month in the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu has 19 million square feet of floor space - or about 329 football fields - edging out the previous record-holder, the Dubai airport.
The structure is 550 yards long, 1,300 feet wide and 328 feet high.
The New Century project is a sign that China’s growth has spread from the country’s more prosperous eastern and southern regions to the west, where wages are lower and the central government has encouraged development with subsidies and tax breaks. With its booming economy, China has become home to some of the largest and tallest buildings in the world.
Backed by local governments, the building in a planned urban district south of Chengdu aims to raise the global stature of the capital city of Sichuan province, known for its spicy cuisine.
Once completed, the centerpiece of the building will be a water park with a 1,300foot coast and beaches under a gigantic glass dome. Up to 6,000 visitors at a time will be able to sunbathe, play in a wave pool, sip cocktails or feast on seafood. A 490-footby-130-foot video screen will rise above a section of water with images of an ocean horizon.
The center will include two exclusive hotels as well as high-end boutiques set in a replica of a Mediterranean town under a sky-blue ceiling. The shopping section has been open to the public since late June, though the building’s office space has been occupied for some time.
The building also has a 14-screen movie theater and an ice rink.
Business, Pages 30 on 07/13/2013