I wax nostalgic for taking long walks around Chinese cities, appreciating their overzealous appreciation of geodesic domes, bumper car facilities, and some of the most bizarre ideas ever constructed.
Today’s specimen: the 138-meter (just under 453 feet) Guangzhou Circle (广州园大厦), located in Guangzhou, Guangdong province. Completed in December 2013 by Milan, Italy-based architect Joseph di Pasquale, the Guangzhou Circle pays homage to Chinese history both in design and in its main occupants.
As is common with major projects in Chinese cities, the Guangzhou Circle is near nothing. An expectation is that businesses will follow, partially to bandwagon off of the cachet of a new landmark– it’s commonly done with building a high-speed railway station, and then a new neighborhood around it, but this structure doesn’t even have a metro station nearby…yet. Yes, it overlooks the Pearl River (more on this later), and is quite close to the Dongsha Bridge, but to get there by public transit involved a not-so frequent bus.
But, what was it modeled after?
Was its inspiration this delicious, gluten-filled sesame-pocked nang, brought to us by Uyghur chefs?
Nice try.
In fact, it was the ancient bi – 璧 – or disc that lent its look. Though their origins are something of a mystery, thousands of years ago bi were discovered buried with people of presumably higher social status. One theory suggests that the bi represented the sky, and accompanied these people in their afterlife; another conjectured that bi had more to do with revealing someone’s social status.
Then there’s that ever-present number eight. What, you say? It looks like a zero to me. Haha…this is where feng shui comes into the mix. When the Guangzhou Circle is reflected on the Pearl River, the pair “forms” the number eight, or double bi. The number eight is China’s lucky number; try buying a license plate or phone number with mostly 8s, and you will be in shock.
When I first lived in Shenzhen, China, I noticed three awfully tacky golden skyscrapers along Shennan Boulevard, the city’s main east-west drag. How ugly they are…but it’s simple. Gold in your facade means I’m here to make money! As such, with Guangzhou Circle’s two main tenants being Hongda Xingye, a giant international chemical company, and the Guangdong Plastics Exchange, perhaps the newest phone camera filter will be “Tackify Your Home.”
Have you been to Guangzhou? Any desire to see the Guangzhou Circle?
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