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China ‘waterfall’ skyscraper hit by torrent of ridicule
BEIJING, July 27, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – A skyscraper in southwest China that
boasts what its owner calls the world’s largest man-made waterfall has become
the latest example of over-the-top architecture to draw national ridicule.
The tower in the city of Guiyang was built with a spectacular 108-metre
(350-feet) cascade tumbling down its face — but cash flow could prove a
problem for the ostentatious design.
Although the Liebian International Building is not yet finished, the water
feature was completed two years ago.
However it has only been turned on six times, with the owners blaming the
high cost — 800 yuan ($120) per hour — of pumping water to the top of the
121-metre-high structure.
Constructed by the Ludi Industry Group, the building will house a shopping
mall, offices and a luxury hotel.
Its signature artificial waterfall uses runoff, rainwater and groundwater
collected in giant underground tanks.
The company says the feature pays homage to the local region’s rugged
nature, but Chinese netizens have mocked the project as a waste of money.
“If they could just turn it on once every few months, the company would
save on cleaning windows,” one user wrote on China’s Twitter-like social
network Weibo.
China’s rapid economic growth has been accompanied by a construction boom,
often including outlandish buildings that are criticised as a waste of public
or shareholder funds.
The Beijing headquarters of state broadcaster China Central Television
features a futuristic design now nicknamed “The Big Underpants” due to its
resemblance to a giant pelvis.
Web users also noted the offices of the People’s Daily newspaper in the
capital looked like a penis during construction, and last year a building on
the campus of a water-resources university gained notoriety for resembling a
toilet.
The issue prompted President Xi Jinping in 2014 to call for an end to what
he called “weird architecture”.
BSS/AFP/MRI/0915 hrs