And the trophy goes to... China's silliest supertower built in a village of 2,000 farmers
It has been recognised as the
richest village in China with each resident having at least $250,000 in
the bank, but now it is showing off its economic might with the opening
of a huge skyscraper.What
is perhaps most startling about the building - dubbed the Hanging
Village of Huaxi - is that it is in a village with just 2,000 officially
registered inhabitants.Reaching
328 metres (1,076ft) into the sky in Huaxi, Jiangsu province, East
China, its closest rival is 600 miles away in Beijing and it is 18
metres taller than the Shard will be when it opens in Central London next year

Despite such a small population, the
latest tower to be built there is 52 storeys higher than its closest
rival in Huaxi and has enough capacity to fit the entire population of
the village.
It ranks as the 15th-highest
skyscraper in the world, standing taller than Paris's Eiffel Tower
(324m) and the Chrysler Building (319m) in New York.
It has taken four years for the
work to be finished on the 74-storey hotel and residential block at a
cost of 3billion yuan (£301m).Some
have compared the building as looking like a trophy because at the top
there is a huge sphere made out of glass while others wonder if it is
sustainable in such a place as Huaxi.
Money
for the project partly came from people in the village - which
celebrated its 50th anniversary the day the building was opened - who
gave shares of 10million Yuan each, the China News Service said.Zhou Li, deputy party chief of the village, said: 'The building is a symbol of collectivism.'



There are 800 suites in the structure
and it can hold around 2,000 people. There is an exhibition hall, a
revolving restaurant and rooftop swimming pools and gardens.On
the 60th floor there's not just an amazing view to be enjoyed but there
is also an ox that has been crafted from a tonne of gold.
One of the main purposes of the
skyscraper is to relieve pressure on the village which has limited land
resources and is actually ballooning in size.There
were originally 2,000 inhabitants in Huaxi but then it grew and started
to swallow up some of the neighbouring areas and now there is a lot of
migration to the area.
It is also hoped that, despite
it being the richest village in China, it will help raise the living
standards of people of Huaxi.The
village has moved on significantly over the last 30 years going from a
poor farming community to a flourishing place of enterprise and a symbol
of the country's economic growth.The village now attracts businesses interested in shipping, steel, tobacco and textiles.

However,
not everybody in the village has profited from the expansion. While the
original people who lived there have made money, those in villages
surrounding villages that Huaxi has swallowed fair less well while those
who have moved there live on an average of $10 a day.
The
2,000 people who first lived their have enjoyed the fruits of living in
Huaxi. Each family has made at least $250,000 from huge building plans
and they enjoy universal health care and free education.Referring
to two helicopters bought by the village for sightseers, Zhou Li said:
'The air flight project and our new skyscraper are our ways to improve
the quality of tourism.'






Striking resemblance? The tower has been likened to a trophy such as that of the Fifa World Club Championship











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