Comments on: A Modern Colossus Holds The Sun: Inside The World’s Largest Building In Chengdu

By: borneoboy

borneoboy — Fri, 26 Jul 2013 14:44:46 +0000

Great writeup. Vividly takes me through this white elephant- a typical China monument of gargantuan proportions – in the end a commercial failure – but success for the corrupt bankers and government officials. Just imagine how many hospitals, schools & public serving facilities the billions flushed down the proverbial toilet could have been built with instead.

By: Jake the Muss!

Jake the Muss! — Wed, 17 Jul 2013 10:49:23 +0000

Agreed.

Shit write up trying to be all ‘thoughtful’.

By: Sascha

Sascha — Wed, 17 Jul 2013 05:40:08 +0000

Good stuff, love the pics and the details.

Here is another write up that does not parrot anythinhg. also some decent video in this post as well. I wrote it and stuff, so that is some disclosure:

http://www.chengduliving.com/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/

By: Hannah

Hannah — Tue, 16 Jul 2013 06:17:10 +0000

Gargh — good observation. If the rising eaves and bowed walls are some sort of nod toward Chinese architecture, it’s perhaps too subtle. Would be good to have seen more of that inside. Other than the roof, it seems that this opportunity to show off what China has to offer was utterly missed.

By: Gargh

Gargh — Tue, 16 Jul 2013 01:34:31 +0000

“Within this colossal structure, there was not a single trace of Chinese tradition”

I’m no archictecture expert, but I’m not sure about this. The rising eaves in the corners definitely make me think of temple roofs, and with the sloping walls I wouldn’t be surprised if it resembles some ancient ritual vessel or other.

By: Chinese Netizen

Chinese Netizen — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 21:44:54 +0000

If you build it, they will come? Hope the shops are on a rent free period until business truly picks up…

By: Sanjay

Sanjay — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 17:47:48 +0000

Thanks for giving the world an inside look at this building, Hannah. I did have one question, based on your comment that it’s the largest building in the world by volume. What is the volume of the building? It’s not a box, so they can’t just multiply the area by the height. If you have the volume, what’s the source of that number? Again, great blog post!

By: Scott

Scott — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 15:12:34 +0000

Very well done, Hannah. Every other write-up about this monstrosity does nothing more than parrot the promotional crap put out by gochengdoo. On a recent visit to Chengdu, I was startled by the contemporary trend in Chinese development to eliminate everything that looks Chinese. Strange ways, it seems to me, for a country with a history of so many amazingly beautiful traditional designs.

By: Alec

Alec — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 14:39:00 +0000

Good writing Hannah, I enjoyed the article.

By: MrT

MrT — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 11:17:05 +0000

What a shit write up.