In 2014, China’s leaders<a href=”http://edition.cnn.com/2014/12/05/world/asia/beijing-weird-buildings/”> called for less “weird architecture to be built in the country.</a> But Chinese architects and their clients are still being bold and ambitious. NetDragon, an online game developer run by an avid “Star Trek” fan, <a href=”http://money.cnn.com/2015/05/26/news/star-trek-enterprise-headquarters/”>built its headquarters in China</a> in the shape of the legendary spaceship that Captain Kirk used to “boldly go where no man has gone before.”There had been widespread debate in 2014 on whether Xi’s remarks calling for an end to “weird buildings” would spell the end of an era of ambitious architectural design in China. Rem Koolhaas’ CCTV building in Beijing is one of the city’s most recognizable structures.The People’s Daily Headquarters in Beijing was also made fun of by citizens, while mid-construction. A doctored photo of the phallic building superimposed under the CCTV’s “pants” went viral on the Internet before censors clamped down on the chatter in 2013.Other memorable architectural designs already realized in China include the Guangzhou Circle, home to the Guangdong Plastic Exchange.The hole in the middle of the Guangzhou Circle is almost fifty meters in diameter and is filled by gardens.This teapot-shaped building was built in in Wuxi.The Gate of the Orient in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, stands more than 300 meters tall and has been compared to a pair of long johns.Admittedly, it did look quite spectacular in the artist renderings.The Sunrise Kempinski Hotel on Beijing’s Yanqi Lake is one of the most anticipated hotel projects in the Chinese capital.Designed by Pritzker Prize laureate Zaha Hadid and her team,the fifth hotel tower of Macau’s sprawling City of Dreams complex is meant to evoke an abstract lucky number 8. It is a great example of Hadid’s signature lack-of-corners architectural style.A horseshoe may be seen as lucky for some and comedic fodder for others. The $1.5 billion Sheraton in Huzhou, Zhejiang province is famed for its unusual design.Opened in Guangzhou in 2013, Langham Place’s exterior is designed to resemble unfolding wings in action, “evoking a sense of freedom and space,” according to a hotel spokesperson. It also has the city’s biggest ballroom.
