Controversial Round Building Completes Construction
A controversial upright circular building designed to resemble an ancient Chinese jade disc but popularly known as the flashy rich people's circle was recently completed in China's southern, Guangdong province.
The 33-stories-tall Guangzhou Circle Building, which features a 47-metre-wide hole in the middle, is becoming a landmark of Guangzhou city, despite its location in the middle of a developing suburb some 40 minutes away from the city's central business district.
Architect Joseph di Pasquale has said the hole is key to the structure because the empty centre would evoke an emotional response from its viewers.
The yellow building also forms a figure-eight with its reflection on the Pearl River, suggesting the Chinese lucky number eight.
The squares lined between the two facades of the building are also a reference to the geometrical impossibility of squaring the circle, or putting a circle inside a square with the same area, according to di Pasquale. He added the squares between the circles suggest perfection.
John Ma, the China manager of architecture firm A.M. Progetti, said di Pasquale drew inspiration from seeing a jade disc at a museum in Guangzhou, and he watched as the Italian architect drew the first impression of the building over a meal with his family.
Ma stressed the building's roundness symbolizes harmony and completion in Chinese culture.
A jade disc isn't just beautiful, it also represents power, wealth and fantasy in traditional Chinese culture. It's an expression of people's good wishes, he said.
The building will house China's largest plastics trading floor, the Guangdong Plastics Exchange, where 300 billion yuan's (US$49.5 billion) worth of plastic raw materials and goods are traded annually.
As we know, Guangzhou is the south gate of China. Our building is south gate's south gate. It's a landmark of the south gate (of China). Whoever comes to Guangzhou through the city's new highways in the south will definitely see Guangzhou Circle Building. It is a landmark of Guangzhou's new era. It represents a city's determination and strength in becoming a centre of world trade, Ma said.
Plastics and chemical firm Hongdaxingye Group Co. Ltd initially poured 100 million yuan (US$16.5 million) into the iconic building and its surrounding warehouses and dormitories. The company spokesperson said it does not have a final pricetag of the five-year-project.
Although construction of the building was officially completed on December 16, workers continued renovating its interior and the entrance area. Hongdaxingye's spokesperson would not estimate an official open date for the public.
Even so, some local residents made the trip from the city centre to take a look at the newest icon in town.
I think he (the architect) is very brave. He made something that other people did not have the courage to make. It's a circular building, which is really unique in Guangzhou, said architecture student, Ash Sze, 18.
Chinese netizens have lashed out at the building, calling it a crass symbol of wealth and nicknamed it Tuhao Circle or Copper Coin Building.
It's quite unusual. I'm quite intrigued to see a building with a circular hole in the middle. Personally, I think it's for the flashy rich people, said one unidentified resident.
Hongdaxingye Group, which funded the building, hosted a naming competition for the building earlier this year. In September, it gave the unidentified winner, who came up with the name Guangzhou Circle, 100,000 yuan (US$16,500).
Xi'an | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
00:01:30 1 Name
00:03:46 2 History
00:03:55 2.1 Prehistory
00:04:46 2.2 Ancient era
00:05:25 2.3 Imperial era
00:10:02 2.4 Modern era
00:12:15 3 Geography
00:13:53 3.1 Climate
00:15:39 3.2 National Time Service Centre
00:17:03 4 Demographics
00:18:55 5 Administrative divisions
00:19:12 6 Transportation
00:20:30 6.1 Metro
00:22:31 6.2 Taxi
00:23:07 6.3 Rail
00:25:18 6.4 Expressways
00:26:15 6.5 Air
00:28:07 7 Culture
00:29:02 7.1 Arts district
00:29:36 7.2 Resident artists
00:29:52 7.3 Xi'an cuisine
00:30:13 7.4 Opera
00:31:05 7.5 Cinema
00:31:38 8 Religion
00:31:47 8.1 Chinese traditional religion and Taoism
00:32:14 8.2 Buddhism
00:32:28 8.3 Christianity
00:33:37 8.4 Islam
00:34:11 9 Economy
00:37:12 9.1 Industrial zones
00:38:27 9.2 Software and outsourcing industries
00:39:20 9.3 Aerospace industry
00:40:53 9.4 Notable businesspeople
00:41:22 10 Education
00:41:31 10.1 Public
00:42:59 10.2 Military
00:43:29 10.3 Private
00:44:16 11 International events
00:44:25 11.1 World Horticultural Expo 2011
00:45:08 12 Tourism
00:45:25 12.1 Sites
00:48:37 12.2 Museums
00:49:12 12.3 National parks
00:50:06 12.4 Food
00:50:33 13 Sports
00:52:26 14 Media
00:52:34 14.1 Television and radio
00:53:23 14.2 Printed media
00:53:58 14.3 Online media
00:54:11 15 International relations
00:54:25 16 See also
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SUMMARY
=======
Xi'an ( SHYAHN, also UK: shee-AN, US: shee-AHN, Chinese: [ɕí.án] (listen)), also known as Sian, is the capital of Shaanxi Province. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong Plain in northwest China, it is one of the oldest cities in China, and the oldest of the Four Great Ancient Capitals, having held the position under several of the most important dynasties in Chinese history, including Western Zhou, Qin, Western Han, Sui, and Tang. Xi'an is the starting point of the Silk Road and home to the Terracotta Army of Emperor Qin Shi Huang.Since the 1990s, as part of the economic revival of inland China especially for the central and northwest regions, the city of Xi'an has re-emerged as an important cultural, industrial and educational centre of the central-northwest region, with facilities for research and development, national security and space exploration. Xi'an currently holds sub-provincial status, administering 9 districts and 4 counties. As of 2018 Xi'an has a population of 12,005,600, and the Xi'an–Xianyang metropolitan area a population of 12.9 million. It is the most populous city in Northwest China, as well as one of the three most populous cities in Western China, the other two being Chongqing and Chengdu. In 2012, it was named as one of the 13 emerging megacities, or megalopolises, in China.
Guangzhou
Guangzhou (Chinese: 广州, literally wide state) (former common romanisation: Canton; less-commonly known as Kwangchow) is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province, People's Republic of China. Located on the Pearl River, about 120 km (75 mi) north-northwest of Hong Kong and north-northeast of Macau, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port. One of the five National Central Cities, it holds sub-provincial administrative status.
Guangzhou is the third largest Chinese city and southern China's largest city. As of the 2010 census, the city's administrative area had a population of 12.78 million, making itself the most populous city in South China. Some estimates place the population of the entire Pearl River Delta Mega City built up area as high as 40 million including Shenzhen (10.36 million), Dongguan (8.22 million) and most parts of Foshan (7.19 million), Jiangmen (4.45 million), Zhongshan (3.12 million) and a small part of Huizhou adjoining Dongguan and Shenzhen, with an area of about 20,000 square kilometres (7,700 sq mi). In 2008 Guangzhou was identified as a Beta World City by the global city index produced by the GaWC, the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.
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Xi'an | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Xi'an
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
You can find other Wikipedia audio articles too at:
You can upload your own Wikipedia articles through:
The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
Xi'an is the capital of Shaanxi Province, China. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong Plain in northwestern China, it is one of the oldest cities in China, and the oldest of the Four Great Ancient Capitals, having held the position under several of the most important dynasties in Chinese history, including Western Zhou, Qin, Western Han, Sui, and Tang. Xi'an is the starting point of the Silk Road and home to the Terracotta Army of Emperor Qin Shi Huang.Since the 1990s, as part of the economic revival of inland China especially for the central and northwest regions, the city of Xi'an has re-emerged as an important cultural, industrial and educational centre of the central-northwest region, with facilities for research and development, national security and space exploration. Xi'an currently holds sub-provincial status, administering 9 districts and 4 counties. As of 2018 Xi'an has a population of 12,005,600, and the Xi'an-Xianyang metropolitan area a population of 12.9 million. It is the most populous city in Northwest China, as well as one of the three most populous cities in Western China. In 2012, it was named as one of the 13 emerging megacities, or megalopolises, in China.
Thysenkrupp Elevator at Federal Way TC 2
2018 take on this one, had to cut it short as i think the St security cop spotted me riding and filing this
Guangzhou
Guangzhou, known historically as Canton or, less commonly as Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province, People's Republic of China. Located on the Pearl River, about 120 km (75 mi) north-northwest of Hong Kong and north-northeast of Macau, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port. One of the five National Central Cities, it holds sub-provincial administrative status.
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Article text available under CC-BY-SA
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