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.
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.
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.
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."
Final touches
Workers make last-minute preparations at the water park in the New Century Global Center on June 28, 2013.
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.
Girders and glass
Workers clean the glass roof of the New Century Global Center building.
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.
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.
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.
Three years in the making
The New Century Global Center building took some three years to build.
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