The largest building on earth. Abraj al-Bayt, Mecca, Saudi Arabia

A building is one of those objects that can be erected large-scale, tall, extended, majestic. It is not surprising that these buildings collect a large number of records. In this article we want to tell you about the largest buildings in the world, record holders in various categories. And let's start, of course, with tallest building.

The highest building

And this is the Burj Khalifa (Arabic: برج خليفة‎). Other names: Dubai"). The height of the largest building in the world is 828 meters, 180 of which are the tallest spire on the planet. It is located in the UAE, the city of Dubai.

How many floors are in the largest building in the world? The building has 163 floors. The architectural solution of the record holder is also interesting - its shape resembles a stalagmite (a mineral formation on the vaults of caves). The building was opened not so long ago - January 4, 2010. Dedicated to the President of the United Arab Emirates - Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan.

The largest building in the world was planned as a “city within a city” - with its own parks, streets, and lawns. Its cost is estimated at 1.5 billion dollars! It was developed by the American design bureau Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, known around the world for other high-profile projects. The author of the appearance of the building is E. Smith. General contractor - construction branch Samsung Corporation (South Korea).

The Burj Khalifa was planned from the very beginning to be the largest building in the world. Therefore, in the projects its final height was kept secret - in case of news about the construction of a higher-rise building, so that the parameters could be adjusted. Only at the opening of the skyscraper were its true dimensions announced.

Structure of the Burj Khalifa skyscraper

Let's see what the largest building in the world is like inside. According to its main purpose, it is a business center. Here are located residential apartments, offices, hotels, shops:

Hotel Armani (designed by Giorgio Armani himself).
900 residential apartments.
The entire hundredth floor is the property of Indian millionaire B. R. Shetty.
Office space, gyms, restaurants, observation floors with Jacuzzis.

What else stands out about the Burj Khalifa?

Interestingly, the air circulating inside the building is not only cooled, but also aromatized. The scent used was specially developed by perfumers for the Burj Khalifa tower.

Another amazing invention is the water collection system. As you know, rain in Dubai is rare. But the humid and hot climate makes it possible to organize condensate collection. The designed system helps accumulate up to 40 million liters of water annually! The moisture is used to water green spaces.

There are 57 elevators in the building, of which only the service elevator circulates from the first floor to the last. On others you have to go up/down with transfers. The speed of the devices is 10 m/s. In this they are inferior to the elevators of the Taiwanese Taipei 101, whose speed is 16.83 m/s.

Many travelers speak with delight about the Dubai Fountain at the foot of the giant. It is illuminated by 6.6 thousand light sources, of which 50 are powerful spotlights. The height of the jets is up to 150 meters!

All records of the Burj Khalifa skyscraper

We know now. Let's look at all his records:

The tallest building, the tallest above-ground structure in modern times and in the entire history of mankind. Here the Khalifa Tower overtook the Taipei 101 skyscraper, the CN Tower, the Warsaw radio tower, and the KVLY mast.
House with the largest number floors.
Most high elevator.
The house with the highest floor.
The highest observation deck is the 148th floor (555 meters).
The highest restaurant in the building is the 122nd floor.

Rating of the tallest buildings

Here is a list of the 10 largest buildings in the world and large-scale objects:

The already mentioned skyscraper "Burj Khalifa" in the United Arab Emirates. Height - 828 meters.
in Poland (Konstantinov) - in the photo. Today it does not exist - it collapsed in 1991 during the procedure for replacing the guy. Height - 646.38 meters.
TV tower in Japan. The 634-meter-high concrete structure was erected in 2010.
Skyscraper "Shanghai Tower" in China. Height - 632 meters.
KVLY-TV broadcast tower in Blanchard, United States. Height - 629 meters. Built in 1963.
Skyscraper "Abraj al-Bayt". 601 meters and 120 floors. Built in Mecca ( Saudi Arabia) in 2012.
There are two candidates in place. This is a hyperboloid 600 meters high, located in the city of the same name in China. As well as the financial international center "Pinan" (600 m), built last year also in China - the city of Shenzhen.
The Lotte World Tower skyscraper, built in 2017 in Seoul (South Korea). Its height is 555 meters.
Concrete tower for sensors, observations "CN Tower" in Toronto (Canada). It was built in 1976. Height - 553 meters.
Skyscraper "Freedom Tower" (World Trade Center) in New York (USA). The height of the building is 541.3 meters.

The largest buildings in Russia

Speaking about giant buildings, let us also mention Russian Federation- Let's see what high-rise buildings there are on its territory:

Ten majestic buildings of the past

Let's look at the buildings that at one time delighted our ancestors with their majesty, amazing for past centuries:

Temple complex "Numbilical Hill" ("Bellied Hill", "Gebekli Tepe"). Located in Turkey. The construction of the structure dates back to 10-8 thousand years BC. Columns up to 9 meters high have been found.
The Tower of Jericho in Palestine, rising 8 meters. Built around 8-5 millennium BC.
Ancient obelisk "Mengir Er-Grah" in Lokmaryaker (France). Erected in 5-4 thousand BC. e. Around the same time, the destruction of this 20-meter structure due to its own fall is also attributed.
Newgrange mound is 13.5 meters high. Erected in 3.6-3 millennium BC. e. in Ireland.
Caral Pyramid in Peru. Its height is 26 meters. It is also the oldest structure in South America (3-2.7 thousand years BC)
Silberry Hill mound in Great Britain, the highest in Europe - 40 m. Erected in 2.75-2.65 millennium BC.
Pyramid of Djoser in Egypt - 62 meters. The very first in ancient Egyptian culture - 2650-2620 BC.
The pyramid at Medum was originally 93.5 meters high. Today it rises 65 m.
Bent pyramid in Jahshur (Egypt). Initially the height was 104.7 meters. Today - 101 m.
Pink egyptian pyramid- 109.5 meters. Today - 104 meters.

Future record holders

Photos of the largest buildings in the world will soon become completely different. After all, the following amazing projects are being prepared for implementation:

Skyscraper in Dubai Creek Harbour. The 928-meter building is planned to be erected by 2020. The opening date of the tower is not accidental. In 2020, the UAE will host the international exhibition Expo. Today the project is estimated at $1 billion. The design of the skyscraper is kept secret. It is only reported that the source of inspiration for the architects will be the Babylonian Hanging Gardens, Islamic minarets and the Eiffel Tower.
Kingdom Tower skyscraper on the shores of the Red Sea. The design height of the building is 1007 meters. The cost of the idea is $1.23 billion. Construction of the first kilometer-tall building in the world is scheduled to be completed by 2020.
Azerbaijan Tower on an artificial archipelago in Azerbaijan. The planned height is 1050 meters. It's 189 floors. Implementation of the project - 2015-2018. The opening of the complex is 2020.

Other giants

Basically, we are used to admiring the height of buildings. But it is also interesting to learn, for example, about the largest building in the world by area. Here's a selection for your consideration:

The largest office. Undoubtedly, Its total area is 620 thousand m2. This is a kind of ring of five concentric pentagons connected by 10 corridors. You can walk from one point to another in 7 minutes.
The largest terminal. Located at Dubai Airport. This is terminal No. 3 - its area is 1.7 million m2.
The biggest hotel. This is the Moscow Izmailovo complex, consisting of five 30-story buildings. About 15 thousand people can live in 7,500 rooms at the same time. The complex was built for the 1980 Olympics.
The largest shopping center. This is New South China Mall in China. Its area is about 660 thousand m2. Designed for 2,500 pavilions and shops.
The largest plant. This is the Boeing factory building in Everett. Area - just under 400 thousand square meters.
The largest entertainment center. This is the Tropical Islands Resort water park near Berlin, opened in a converted hangar. Area - 70,000 m2.
The largest residential building. It is considered the Princess Tower skyscraper in Dubai. The height of the building is 414 meters, the total area is more than 171 thousand m2. The building has 763 apartments.
The largest private house. This building is located in Mumbai (India). Height - 173 meters (27 floors). It is the property of Indian billionaire M. Ambani, who is considered the richest man in the country. The building has its own theater, spa, swimming pools, hanging gardens, 9 elevators. The house is served by 600 people.
The largest modern palace. This is an unusual title for the Istana Nurul Iman residence of the Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah. His palace has 1,788 rooms and halls with a total area of 200 thousand m2.
The largest theater. Pearl on the Water (National Performing Arts Theater) is located in China. Its area is 210 thousand m2. Designed for 6500 guests.
Most big museum. Undoubtedly, this is the Louvre, dating back to the 12th century. Its total area is more than 160 thousand square meters, 58 thousand of which are given over to the exhibition. And there are more than 35 thousand exhibits here!
The largest stadium. "May Day" in Pyongyang, where more than 150,000 spectators can be accommodated.

Could be the tallest...

The failed project of the largest administrative building in the world was the Al-Burj (Nakhil, Nakhil) skyscraper, which was planned to be built near the Burj Dubai (UAE).

The height of the giant was supposed to be 1.4 km, and the number of floors - 228! Construction should also be completed by 2020. However, the project was canceled in 2009 due to its high cost during the global financial crisis.

This concludes the story about record-breaking buildings. As you now know, impressive structures huge variety both in the past and in the present.

The most high building in the world is located in Dubai. It is the tallest skyscraper in the world, which resembles in its shape a huge talagmite. The building managed to outpace the giant, which is located in the city of Taipei, by three hundred meters.

A sample picture of outstanding skyscrapers around the world looks like this:

Currently, Burj Khalifa is an extraordinary landmark in Dubai and around the world. The skyscraper has a height of eight hundred twenty-eight meters, and the number of floors in it is more than one hundred and sixty.

Now the building houses nine prestigious hotels and a system of beautiful fountains, which were created by analogy with the structures in Las Vegas.

The total cost required to build the skyscraper is about four billion dollars. The author of the project is the American architect Adrian Smith, who has extensive experience in creating tall buildings.

Construction of the skyscraper began in 2004, and then work continued at a rate of one or two floors per week. First, concrete work was carried out, which was completed after the construction of one hundred and sixty floors, then the assembly of a spire from metal structures, having a height of one hundred and eighty meters, began.

The opening ceremony took place on January 4th, 2010.

History and features of the construction of Burj Khalifa

The tallest building in the world is central element in the composition of the newest business center. The lower thirty-seven floors are occupied by the hotel. Seven hundred luxurious and expensive apartments are located on floors from forty-fifth to one hundred and eighth. A larger amount of space was allocated for offices.

The building is famous throughout the world for its observation deck and unique lobby, which are located on the one hundred and twenty-third and one hundred and twenty-fourth floors.

In addition, there is a tall tower that rises above the main building. It is equipped with very powerful telecommunications equipment and technology.

During the construction of the building, it was decided to use only unique Construction Materials, allowing the building to “stand firmly” on the foundation in the future. Therefore, a special grade of concrete was developed specifically for the skyscraper, capable of withstanding temperatures up to fifty degrees Celsius. It was poured only at night, and not only water, but also ice was added to the solution.

Sixty-five two-story elevators were installed in the building, at a total cost of thirty-six million dollars. But only a service elevator can go directly from below to the top floor. Residents, tourists and visitors to the building will move around it with transfers.

The elevators available in the skyscraper are currently the highest speed in the world. They are capable of reaching speeds of up to eighteen meters per second.

The tallest building in the world was also designed to be the safest. Thanks to a unique fire system, it will be possible to evacuate all visitors within thirty-two minutes.

The tower was designed in such a way that it could independently generate electricity for the building using a sixty-meter turbine that rotates using the wind, as well as solar panels. They are partially located on the walls of the entire tower. Their total area is about fifteen thousand square meters.

The building has special sun protection and reflective glass panels that can reduce heating in all rooms. Thanks to this complex system the need for daily conditioning is reduced.

For this purpose, the building uses a convection system, which draws air from below and directs it upward. For cooling, only sea water is used, as well as cooling modules located underground. Therefore, the air temperature in the skyscraper is no more than eighteen degrees Celsius.

As noted, on the one hundred and twenty-fourth floor of the building there is an observation deck “At the Top”. A ticket for it will cost one hundred dirhams, that is, twenty-seven dollars. But there are always very long queues behind him. To purchase an express ticket, which allows you to skip the line at observation deck, you will need to spend four hundred dirhams, that is, more than one hundred dollars. But they are also in constant demand. You can stay on it as long as you want.

The observation deck is almost completely glazed. There are modern electronic telescopes for tourists. In addition, it will also be possible to watch recordings of historical, day and night panoramas.

The tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa skyscraper, was designed as a “city within a city.” Therefore, it has its own lawns, boulevards and parks. In the tourist part, the skyscraper has very rich and modern interiors. In all respects, this is a unique, inimitable and, of course, unforgettable building that should definitely be visited.

The largest structure in the world by mass, but the second in height May 6th, 2013

We are with you very much. However, this was the first time I heard about this building. And it’s practically a record holder! See how times change and new objects appear right before your eyes!

Abraj Al Bayt Towers also known as "Makkah Clock Royal Tower" is a huge residential complex which is located in Mecca, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The building is unique in that it holds several world records in marine construction. These include: the tallest hotel in the world, the tallest clock tower in the world and the largest clock, the largest building in the world by area, the second tallest building in the world after Burj Dubai. The construction complex was built a few meters from the largest Islamic mosque - Masjid al Haram.

It is the largest (but not the tallest) structure in the world by mass, it is also the tallest structure in Saudi Arabia and the second tallest in the world after the Burj Khalifa

That's how it all began!

Once completed, it will be the tallest free-standing tower, the tallest building in Saudi Arabia, and the world's largest and tallest hotel, with a planned height of 601 meters. The area of the structure will be 1,500,000 m2. Same as Terminal 3 at Dubai International Airport, United United Arab Emirates which is also under construction. The Abraj Al Bayt Towers will surpass the Emirat Park Towers in Dubai, which until now was considered the tallest hotel in the world. A complex of 6 towers, the height of the central one (somewhat reminiscent of Big Ben in London) is 525 meters.

The building is located across the road south of the entrance to the Masjid al Haram mosque, which houses the Kaaba. The tallest tower in the complex will serve as a hotel to help provide accommodation for the more than five million pilgrims who visit Mecca each year to participate in the Hajj.

Abraj al-Bayt will have a four-story shopping center and a garage that can accommodate more than a thousand cars. The residential towers will house residents and two helipads and a conference center will accommodate business guests. In total, up to 100,000 people can be accommodated inside the tower. The project will use clock faces for each side of the hotel tower. The highest residential floor will be located at 450 meters, just below the clock. Dimensions of the dials are 43 × 43 m (141 × 141 m). The roof of the clock is located at an altitude of 530 meters above the ground. A 71 meter spire will be added to top part hours, giving it a total height of 601 meters, making it the second tallest building in the world when fully completed, surpassing Taipei 101 in Taiwan.

The tower will house an Islamic museum and a lunar observation center.

The complex is being built by the Bin Laden Group, the largest construction company in Saudi Arabia. The clock tower is designed by the German company Premiere Composite Technologies, Clock, from the Swiss engineering company Straintec. The total cost of the project is $800 million. The Bin Laden Group was founded by Mohammed bin Laden.

Tower name:
1. Zamzam is a well in Mecca, located on the territory of the Al-Haram mosque. Archangel Gabriel pointed out its location to Hagar, Ishmael's mother.
2. Hagar - a slave, Sarah's servant during the latter's childlessness, who became Abraham's concubine and bore him a son, Ishmael.
3.Qibla - direction towards the Kaaba. In Muslim religious practice, believers must face this direction during prayer.
4.Safa - Safa and Marwa are two hills in the courtyard of the al-Haram mosque mentioned in the Koran. During the Hajj, pilgrims climb Safa Hill, face the Kaaba and turn to Allah in prayer.
5.Makam - Analogue of the Christian Ladder, spiritual state on the path of self-improvement

More than five million pilgrims visit Mecca every year. The Royal Tower houses a hotel that can accommodate about 100 thousand people. In addition, the towers contain residential apartments, a shopping center, a garage for 800 cars and even 2 helipads.

Construction of Abraj al-Bayt was completed in 2012.

In 5-star Abraj al-Bait 858 rooms, served by 76 elevators, also designed to provide easy access to the Holy Mosque Al Haram for prayers.

Thanks to its proximity to Holy Kaaba, the holiest site in Islam, Abraj al-Bait will become a “beacon for pilgrims”, guests will also be able to visit a museum of Islamic icons and art objects intended to develop the cultural heritage of the region.

To the complex Abraj al-Bait includes three luxury hotels with luxury apartments, a four-story shopping center, two helipads and a conference center.

The hotel has nine restaurants, where you can taste both Indian and Lebanese cuisine, and taste grilled steak.

Vashne is home to a lunar observatory and a museum of Islam. She is in a huge complex Abraj al-Bait, which is part of King Abdulaziz's development project aimed at modernizing the surrounding area Mecca and Medina.

The Meccan clock is located on the Royal Clock Tower of the complex high-rise buildings Abraj Al-Bait, which is located almost opposite the main shrines of Islam, the Al-Haram Mosque and the Kaaba house. All of Abraj al-Bayt's buildings are five-star hotels, where wealthy Muslim pilgrims stay on the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca.

It is worth talking about the Abraj al-Bayt high-rise building complex in a little more detail. This complex was built by Saudi Arabia's largest construction firm, Saudi Binladin Group, in 2012. The complex, which cost approximately $15 billion to build, is itself the largest hotel in the world, capable of accommodating 100,000 guests. In addition, the complex is the most massive structure in the world and the tallest structure in Saudi Arabia. The height of its Clock Royal Tower is 601 meters and in height this building is second only to one building in the world - the Burj Khalifa tower in Dubai.

The total height of the Royal Clock Tower also includes the height of the 70-meter spire, which is topped with an Islamic crescent. By the way, this spire is used to track the Moon during the Islamic holiday of Ramadan. But, in addition to all the above, this tower contains another technological miracle - the world's largest clock, developed by the Swiss company Straintec.

Each of the four dials of this clock, located at an altitude of about 400 meters, has a diameter of 43 meters and consists of 98 million glass mosaic pieces. The dials, 17 meter long hour hands and 22 meter long minute hands, are illuminated by two million green and white. In addition, another 21 thousand LEDs form something like information boards, on which calls for each of the five daily prayers are displayed. Thanks to high altitude Due to the location of these watches, the light from their dials and additional displays is visible in good weather at a distance of about 30 kilometers.

January 15, 1943 started work Pentagon- the famous headquarters of the US Department of Defense, which has become the most largest office building in the world. Today we will talk about several objects from different countries, each of which is considered a record in size in its industry on Earth. It's about about residential and factory buildings, shopping centers, airports, stadiums and other world record holders.

Built in 1943, the United States Department of Defense building is still the largest office building in the world. After all, its total area is 620 thousand square meters. The Pentagon consists of five concentric pentagons connected by ten corridors. At the same time, you can walk from one point of the structure to another in a maximum of 7 minutes.

Dubai is one of the largest aviation hubs in the world. Therefore, it is not surprising that the largest air terminal on the planet is located here. Terminal 3 at Dubai International Airport alone measures 1,713,000 square meters, making it the second largest building on Earth.

The Izmailovo Hotel in Moscow has held the palm among the largest hotels in the world for more than thirty years. This complex of five 30-story buildings has 7,500 rooms and is designed to simultaneously accommodate 15 thousand people. It was opened in 1980 for the Moscow Olympics.

The New South China Mall was inaugurated in 2005, only to close within a few months. The huge building, with an area of 659,612 square meters and designed for 2,500 shops, turned out to be unnecessary for residents of the poor and relatively small city of Dongguan, which by Chinese standards has a population of ten million. Now it is mothballed in anticipation of population growth and living standards in the metropolis.

The Boeing Corporation has the largest factory building in the world. Its plant in Everett, near Seattle, has an area of 399,480 square meters. In addition to assembly shops, the building houses several catering establishments, an aviation museum, a souvenir shop and even its own theater.

It is unlikely that the people who built a huge hangar for airships in 1938, 60 kilometers from Berlin, suspected that they were creating the basis for the world's largest entertainment center. However, it was here, in a building that had been empty for several decades, that the Tropical Islands Resort water park was opened in 2005. The total area of this structure is 70 thousand square meters.

In 2012, the largest and tallest residential building in the world was commissioned in Dubai. The height of the 101-story Princess Tower skyscraper is 414 meters, and the total area is 171,175 sq.m. There are 763 apartments and 957 parking spaces for residents and guests of the building.

The largest private house built for one family is a 27-story, 173-meter building in the Indian city of Mumbai. It was built in 2010 by order of local billionaire Mukesh Ambani, the richest man in the country. This skyscraper has 9 elevators, a small theater for 50 spectators, parking for 168 cars, a spa with several pools, hanging gardens and many other wonders. The building's maintenance staff employs 600 people.

For many years, the Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah was considered the richest man on the planet, until Bill Gates overtook him in the mid-90s. But even now the Asian monarch holds several world records, for example, the most large collection cars or the largest palace on Earth. The Istana Nurul Iman residence has 1,788 halls and rooms, three times more than that of the Queen of England. The total area of the building is about 200 thousand square meters.

The May Day Stadium in the North Korean capital Pyongyang holds several records. For example, this is the largest stadium in the world, because 150 thousand spectators can gather in its stands at the same time. This arena also regularly hosts the Arirang music and gymnastics show, which has a record number of participants. It is believed that about 100 thousand people are involved in this performance with a patriotic theme.

The largest building in the world was built July 3rd, 2013

Where would you think? Well, of course in China.

Chinese cities regularly top lists of the world's fastest-growing cities. According to research conducted by the American magazine “Foreign Policy” together with MGI (McKinsey Global Institute), in 2012 the leaders of the ranking were Shanghai, Beijing and Tianjin, ahead of such active cities as New York, Tokyo, Moscow and Sao Paulo . Last year's Forbes research shows similar results - four Chinese megacities (Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen) entered the TOP 10, becoming the most promising cities in the world.

Today, China decided to once again confirm its leadership title by announcing the start of construction of the largest building on the planet. According to news agencies, in the city of Chengdu (southwest China, Sichuan province) a shopping and entertainment center “New Century Global Center” has been built, the length of which will reach half a kilometer. According to the project, the height of the building will be one hundred meters, the width will be 400 m, and the total area will be 1.7 million m².

“New Century Global Center” has become the largest building in the world by area and the largest shopping and entertainment center, respectively! If we compare the New Century Global Center with another famous mega-structure - the Pentagon, it turns out that the area of the latter is almost three times smaller. The territory of the new center could accommodate twenty buildings of the famous Sydney Opera House.

The largest building in the world will be distinguished not only by its unique architecture, but also by its convenient layout. The project provides that the New Century Global Center, along with conference rooms and office space, will house two comfortable 5-star hotels, a university complex, two commercial centers, and a cinema. Approximately four hundred thousand square meters will be allocated for retail space.

Another interesting attraction of the New Century Global Center will be the lighting system. An “artificial sun” will function here, working without interruption twenty-four hours a day. By using innovative technology, developed by Japanese specialists, the system will provide constant lighting and heating of the building. Therefore, “New Century Global Center” can be called not only the most big building world, but also one of the most high-tech facilities on the planet.

The 100-meter New Century Global Center, which will occupy a site of 400 by 500 meters, will consist of three parts: New Century City World Center, Central Plaza and New Century Contemporary Art Center. Zaha Hadid, a British architect of Arab origin, a representative of deconstructivism, took part in the development of the project. In 2004, she became the first woman to be awarded the Pritzker Prize, the equivalent of the Nobel Prize in architecture.

The highlight of the New Century Global Center will be a marine park with an artificial beach 400 m long and 5 thousand m² in area. Vacationers will be able to bask in the rays of the artificial sun, which will shine and heat the building 24 hours a day. For greater realism, a screen 150 m wide and 40 m high will show marine species, and special installations will imitate the breeze. The beach can accommodate 600 people at a time. In local cafes you can enjoy seafood dishes.

The developers of New Century Global Center note that another reason to be proud of the project is the center contemporary art New Century Contemporary Art Center, which will be the largest in Western China. There will be a museum (30 thousand m²), an exhibition hall (12 thousand m²) and a theater with 1.8 thousand seats.

The area next to the center will be framed by 44 ordinary fountains, and in the center there will be a dancing fountain, the diameter of which will reach 150 m. According to the president of ETG, which is involved in the construction of the New Century Global Center, this fountain will be on par with its famous counterparts in Dubai and Macau and Las Vegas.

Among other things, the center will have 300 thousand m² retail space, IMAX cinema and ice skating rink. Guests of the New Century Global Center will be able to stay in 2 five-star hotels with 1,000 rooms each.

It should be noted that the location for the construction of such an extraordinary center was not chosen by chance. Now Chengdu - major center economics, trade, finance, science and technology. In 2007 The World Bank declared this city the benchmark for the investment climate in China. The metropolis with a population of 14 million people continues to develop: by 2020, in addition to the 2 existing metro lines, 8 more will be built, and a new airport will be built. According to experts, by this time Chengdu will become China's Silicon Valley.