New Century Global Center is so large that it functions as a complete city within another
With 1.76 million square meters of built area, the New Century Global Center, in Chengdu (China), is considered the largest building in the world.
The monumental structure measures 500 meters long, 400 meters wide and 100 meters high, housing hotels, shops, offices, theme parks, cinemas and even an artificial beach with a digital sky that never darkens.
Designed to function as a self-sufficient city, the mega complex combines luxury, technology and entertainment in one place.
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Inside it, there are avenues, squares, means of electric transport, a convention center, an underground subway terminal and even residential areas — all in an air-conditioned and permanently lit environment.
Feeling of eternal day
The most curious highlight is the artificial lighting system, which simulates sunrise and sunset with moving clouds.
The so-called “digital sky” creates a feeling of eternal day, while air conditioning systems maintain summer temperatures all year round, even during the Chinese winter.
The construction of the New Century Global Center involved more than 100,000 workers and dozens of engineering companies.
Completed in 2013, the project took just over three years and has become a symbol of China’s technological and economic advancement in the 21st century.
The interior is home to the largest shopping center in the region, with more than 2,000 stores, five-star hotels, luxury resorts and an indoor water park.
The artificial beach is 5 thousand square meters, with imported sand and waves generated by synchronized hydraulic systems.
The ceiling is covered with LED panels and translucent glass, capable of reproducing the blue sky with impressive realism.
Size that impresses
To give you an idea of its size, the building is three times larger than the Pentagon in the United States and ten times larger than the Dubai mall.
In terms of useful area, it even surpasses Terminal 3 at Dubai Airport and the group of Abraj Al-Bait towers, in Saudi Arabia.
The complex was also planned with a focus on sustainability. It features intelligent ventilation systems that reduce energy consumption by up to 30% and high-efficiency solar panels.
Today, the New Century Global Center hosts around 50,000 people a day, including visitors, guests and employees.
For many urban planners, the building represents the future of metropolises, where living, working and playing can happen within the same space — a true vertical city that challenges the limits of modern engineering.
