Ever wonder how China can endlessly generate goal-seeked GDP of precisely 8.00001% year after year? Or how it can constantly find use for the massive and ever-larger surplus of warehoused commodities? Simple - never stop building. Which, apparently means blowing up empty building before they are even finished and rebuilding them. Rinse. Repeat. After all gotta keep all those construction workers from rioting, and all those USD reserves redirected into Brazilian and OZ commodities, now that China is not really buying US debt anymore. China Hush has some stunning pictures confirming that in its search of the great home bubble perpetual engine, the politbureau comrades may have stumbled onto the bricks and mortar equivalent of Shangri La. In the meantime, more on the whole "controlled demolition thing" from China Hush.

As one of the most architectural productive country, China aggregates 2 billion m2 of new building area every year, consuming about 40% of the world’s concrete and steel. However, on the flip side of the new building fever, there lie the rubbles and remains of other “older” buildings: people tear down four-star hotels to build five-star ones and bulldoze newly developed construction sites before they are even finished. Lots of young strong buildings are down, fulfilling their unnatural destiny in the roaring noise of blasting. (Source from ifeng.com and people.com.cn)

1. Vienna Wood Community in Hefei City died before born on Dec. 10th, 2005. The community covered about 20,000 m2 construction area with the main structure raised to 58.5 m high. The tens of millions yuan worth building was blasted as a whole when its 16th floor was still under progress. According to local government, the community punctuated the central divide of Hefei City, blocking the scenery between Huangshan Road and Dashushan Mountain. They couldn’t straighten Huangshan Road unless the community was out of the way.

2. The Bund Community in Wuhan, 4 years old, blasted on March 30th, 2002. “I give you the Yangtze River” the slogan of the community captured many people’s hearts, so did its view over the magnificent Yangtze River and Wuhan’s historic spot Yellow Crane Tower. It took only 4 years to build the community that was documented and verified by relative departments. Then it also took only 4 years for the once legitimate community to be identified as illegitimate buildings that violate the country’s flood protection regulations. Force demolition soon took place, resulting in over 200 million yuan direct economic losses, not to mention the costs that were times of its original investment government had to cover for the demolition and restoration of bund environment.

3. Yuxi Exhibition Center, 5 years old, down on Aug. 20th, 2005. The landmark building in Yongchuan City, Chongqing Municipality cost 40 million yuan to build, and 250 kg dynamite and about 5000 detonators to blow up. Besides holding exhibition, the center was also used as administrative reception center due to its convenient location and sound facility. However, the mine boss who bought the center for 30 million yuan decided it was an even better idea for the center to become the city’s first five-star hotel instead of holding some stupid exhibitions. Thus down with the landmark exhibition center and here was 250 million yuan to build the glorious five star hotel. To welcome the city’s first five-star hotel, vice mayor of Yongchuang City came down to the site in person and helped monitor the blasting process.

4. Zhongyin Building in Wenzhou City, 6 years old, life ended on May 18th, 2004. Situated at the city’s golden area since 1997, the 93 m high building was never put into use as it was identified as unsafe building and soon brought out the city’s biggest financial crime ever, involving 43 suspects and over 30 million yuan corruption. And for that reason, it was also remembered as corruption building. Solving all of the building’s safety problems would demand more than the cost of building a new one, the authority then blow it up.

5. Shouyi Sports Center, 10 years old, blasted on June 16th, 2009. It was called “champion’s cradle” for fostering a good many sport talents for Hubei Province, including badminton world champions Gao Ling and Wei Yili. But when its existence bothered the 20 billion worth museum project for the 100th anniversary of Revolution of 1911, it had to give way, even though it was only 10 years old and still upgrading its sport equipments up till the demolition.

6. Five Lake Hotel in Nancang City, 13 years old, blasted on Feb. 6th, 2010. The four star hotel building was finished in 1997 and viewed as one of the landmark building in Nancang City too. The hotel was taken over by a Hong Kong company who decided to turn it into a five-star hotel. It was estimated that the demolition would result in 40,000 ton of construction waste, taking up a large area of refuse landfill.

7. Shenyang Summer Palace, 15 years old, blasted on Feb. 20th, 2009. Completed in 1994, the palace is a water entertaining center that cost 200 million yuan to build. It was the biggest arched architecture in Asia then. For a long time, Shenyang Summer Palace was viewed as the greatest fun in the city, receiving over 400 million tourists in its first 5 years. However, the city’s greatest fun was blown up within 2 seconds for the sake of real estate development.

8. Zhejiang University’s No. 3 building in lakeside campus, 16 years old, downed on Jan. 6th, 2007. Standing 67 m high with 20 floors, the No.3 building was the highest on West Lake side. But the university transferred part of the campus land into commercial property for 2.46 billion yuan, thus torn down the building to hand over a flat land. On the day of the blasting, teachers and students flocked together to witness the spectacular and tragic moment.

9. Tsingtao Railway Building, 16 years old, blasted on Jan. 17th, 2007. The building was designed in accordance with three star standard and meant to be there for about 100 years. Opened in 1991, it was seen as one of the landmark buildings of the city at that time. Still it had to give way when it countered the construction program for the 2008 Olympic.

10. Shenyang Wulihe Stadium, 18 years old, blasted on Feb 12th, 2007. Known as China’s blessed football land, the stadium costs 250 million yuan to build. It witnessed the one time China football team became World Cup qualifier on Oct. 7th 2001. Two years later, Shenyang City successfully applied for football competition venue of the 2008 Olympic. The government switched its alteration and addition plan to tearing down the 18-year-old stadium instead. The land was then auctioned at 1.6 billion yuan and gulped up 1.9 billion yuan investment to build a new Olympic Center.

11. “Asian First Arc” in Shanghai, 11 years old, demolished on Feb. 13th, 2008. The beautiful arc was seen as the best viewing spot in Shanghai bund. The bridge was designed to service for at least 100 years, but the bund passage remodeling program decided it should die at 1/10 of its life span. “We architect designers, should look further in future planning.” Said Zhao Lizhong, designer of the arc.

h/t Robert