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World's biggest building opens doors in China (pictures)

About the size of Monaco, the New Century Global Center in Chengdu is large enough to contain 20 Sydney Opera Houses.

Joshua Norman
Joshua Norman is a Senior Editor at CBSNews.com.
Joshua Norman
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1 of 9 AFP/Getty Images

The New Century Global Center

The New Century Global Center building opened to the public in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan province, June 28, 2013.

The center, claimed by Chinese officials to be "the world's largest standalone structure," has 1.7 million square meters of floor space, large enough to hold 20 Sydney Opera Houses.
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2 of 9 AFP/Getty Images

Welcome to paradise

The enormous facility is home to business offices, hotels, theaters, shopping malls, a faux Mediterranean village, and attractions including a water park called "Paradise Island."
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3 of 9 AFP/Getty Images

Final touches

Workers make last-minute preparations at the water park in the New Century Global Center on June 28, 2013.
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4 of 9 AFP/Getty Images

Tropical paradise

Another view of a water park seen in the New Century Global Center building, which opened to the public in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan province, June 28, 2013.
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5 of 9 AFP/Getty Images

Girders and glass

Workers clean the glass roof of the New Century Global Center building.
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6 of 9 AFP/Getty Images

The world's largest standalone structure

China says the New Century Global Center building in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan province, is the world's largest standalone structure. It's 328 feet high, 1,640 feet long, and 1,312 feet wide.
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7 of 9 Getty Images

Ready for business

The cavernous structure will feature a mix of retail outlets, a 14-screen movie theater, a university complex, offices, hotels, a water park called Paradise Island, a skating rink that's big enough to host international competitions, a pirate ship, 15,000 parking spots, and even a fake Mediterranean village.
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8 of 9 AFP/Getty Images

Let the (artificial) sun shine

Visitors will enjoy an artificial sun that gives off light and heat 24 hours a day and a 164-yard-long LED screen serving as a stand-in for the horizon.
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9 of 9 AFP/Getty Images

Three years in the making

The New Century Global Center building took some three years to build.

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