Located at the newly planned Tainfu New District in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province in southwestern China, the Century Global Center is 500m long, 400m wide and 100m high.
Said to be three times the size of the Pentagon in Washington, D.C, the 1.7 million m2 skyscraper can house 20 Sydney Opera Houses.
The building is home to business offices, hotels, movie theatres, a faux Mediterranean village and Paradise Island water park, conference rooms, a university complex, two commercial centres, two five star hotels, a skating rink and a pirate ship, and about 1.3 million ft2 retail space.
The design of the building is based on beach theme, which features fountains, a water park and a 16,400ft2 artificial beach with a roof, resembling a wave.
The artificial beach includes a rafting course and a seafront promenade with parasols and seafood outlets to accomodate 6,000 people, according to Daily News.
It would be illuminated by a giant 150m long and 40m LED screen which mimics the horizon and offers sunrises, sunsets and nautical breezes.
The Century Global Center has employed a Japanese technique with an artificial sun, which will shine and emanate heat for 24 hours a day as Chengdu is often blanketed by thick smog.
The building faces the Chengdu Contemporary Arts Centre, which is designed by British-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid.
Boeing’s plant in Everett, Washington is the world’s biggest building by volume whereas the Century Global Center tops the world’s biggest by floor space.
It opened on 28 June 2013.
