High cost dries up waterfall on China building
– 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 ridicule.
The tower in the city of Guiyang was built with a spectacular 108m cascade down its face, but cash flow could be a problem for the ostentatious design.
Although the Liebian International Building is not yet finished, the water feature was completed two years ago. But it has only been turned on six times, with the owners citing the high cost – 800 yuan (R1 589) per hour – of pumping water to the top of the 121m-high structure. The artificial waterfall uses runoff, rainwater and groundwater collected in giant underground tanks.
The company says the feature pays homage to the region’s ruggedness, 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 social network Weibo.
China’s rapid economic growth has come with a construction boom, often including outlandish buildings criticised as a waste of public or shareholder funds.
The Beijing headquarters of China Central Television is a futuristic design nicknamed “The Big Underpants” due to its resemblance to a pelvis. Web users also noted the People’s Daily newspaper office in the capital looked like a penis during construction and a building at a water resources uni- versity has gained notoriety for resembling a toilet. – AFP