ChengDu New Century Global Center

• Address: 1700 Tianfu Ave North Section, Wuhou Qu, Chengdu Shi, Sichuan Sheng, China, 610041
• Opened: July 1, 2013
• Floor space: 1.7 million m²
• Floor area: 170 ha
• Province: Sichuan
• Construction started: 2010
• Function: Movie theater, University, Shopping mall, Hotel

ChengDu New Century Global Center is a multipurpose building in the Tianfu New Area of Chengdu, China, and is the world’s largest building in terms of floor area.

Development

Developed by billionaire Deng Hong’s Entertainment and Travel Group (ETG), nearly 400,000 square metres (4,300,000 sq ft) of the building is devoted to shopping. It also houses offices, conference rooms, a university complex, two commercial centres, hotels, an IMAX cinema, a “Mediterranean village”, a pirate ship and skating rink. The centrepiece of the building is a water park (“Paradise Island Water Park”), containing a 5,000 m2 (54,000 sq ft) artificial beach, where a giant 150 by 40 m (490 by 130 ft) screen forms the horizon to offer sunrises and sunsets.

At night, a stage extends out over the pool for concerts. A stand has been built overlooking the pool with a food court and entrance underneath at the floor level. The new Intercontinental Hotel will feature 1,009 rooms that are spread over 6×8 story blocks around the edge of the complex. The centre is connected to Line 1 of the Chengdu Metro.

The building will eventually face the Chengdu Contemporary Arts Centre, designed by British-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid

Controversy

Although parts of the shopping area opened in early 2013, the centre was supposed to have formally opened in March 2013 when it hosted the Global Fortune 500 conference. However, the businessman behind the project, Deng Hong, was arrested on corruption charges, and “given the potential for political humiliation” the conference was moved to the Shangri-La Hotel in Chengdu.

The opening was delayed until 22 August 2013, but was calmed down and scaled back after the arrest of more than 50 local government officials being detained in a series of overlapping investigations.