![]() The huge gap in wealth and living costs between the two cities allowed rich transplants to lead luxurious lifestyles.īeyond being a hub of soaring economic growth, Shenzhen was one of China’s first "Low Carbon Cities", a government initiative to reduce carbon emissions at the city level.Ĭity authorities say it’s helped Shenzhen reduce air pollution by 50%. The much cheaper labour and land earned the region the nickname "the factory of the world", but it quickly earned another – "the playground of Hong Kong’s rich". Tax incentives and freedom to trade without the approval of the Chinese government helped Shenzhen to lure Hong Kong manufacturers and investors to open factories there. Shenzhen benefited from its adjacency to Hong Kong – at the time a successful, booming market economy run by the British. It was a move that would turn this town of fewer than 30,000 people into one of China’s most dynamic cities, with a booming economy and population to match.įollowing the death of Mao Zedong, Chinese paramount leader Deng Xiaoping ushered in an era of economic reforms, overseas investment and greater openness in diplomatic affairs with the rest of the world. Then, in 1980, it became one of China’s first Special Economic Zones – small, controlled areas where the Chinese communist government first tested out market reforms before rolling out new policies nationwide. I also went on top of a much smaller building machine, used for residential buildings.Forty years ago, Shenzhen was an isolated fishing village just north of Hong Kong, the point from which vast numbers of mainlanders risked their lives to illegally emigrate by swimming across the border to their prosperous southern neighbour. So now, the building machines have become smaller, smarter, and can fit into different heights and sizes. It's an effort to curb regional competitions for creating new landmarks as vanity projects – some of which are not needed. The country rolled out regulations to ban construction of skyscrapers exceeding 500 meters in height and limit construction of buildings exceeding 250 meters. The market has changed, however, after China took a different turn in rising skylines. I've learned that previous generations of building machines were much heavier, weighing a couple of thousand tonnes, and they could build super tall buildings quite easily. Wang chairs the research center that has been perfecting the building machines. ![]() We need to improve the industrialization of the building machine," he added. It is also necessary to consider whether it can be efficient and use fewer resources. "The building machine itself is just a piece of equipment. "In terms of the construction equipment and technology, we are in a leading position in the world," said Wang Kaiqiang, executive director for the China Construction Institute of Advanced Technology. It takes the platform four hours to jack up, which is half the time needed for previous generations. The one I saw is a fourth-generation machine. When we start jacking, the hydraulic cylinder system of these 12 columns pushes the platform to a new height," explained Qi Te, another engineer working on the Great River Project, who took me to the control room.īasically, hydraulic systems lift the entire platform up while it builds up the tower. A hydraulic cylinder system is installed in the columns for jacking. "There are 12 columns, which are shown in pink. It took two years to complete one third of the main tower of almost 400 meters with the help of the building machine, which weighs almost 1,000 tonnes. It offers workers a safe working environment," said Bao Zeding, an engineer from the General Construction Company of the China Construction Third Engineering Bureau (CCTEB) Co., Ltd.īao is part of the team building the Great River Center in central China's Wuhan along the Yangtze River bank – a new cluster of modern high-rises. For our integrated building machine, the most important thing is to provide a safe and stable platform. Conventional racks are unstable at heights of 300 to 500 meters. "Work safety at heights is the most important factor, because strong winds and torrential rains affect it. That means multiple floors can be built at the same time – improving efficiency while reducing labor costs by 20 percent. And the other levels are for moulding, concreting and structural reinforcement. The top level is for binding steel bars and creating the skeleton of a building. ![]() The machine covers three and half structural floors.
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