The story behind ‘the tallest unfinished building in the world’ in China

The 597 meter high, almost 2,000 feet Tianjin 117 building has changed from the highest in China to the tallest unfinished building in the world. The building designer is Li Huawu, a famous architect, and the entire skyscraper uses as many Chinese elements as possible in its design. The building was designed with 117 floors because it was mentioned in the book of changes in ancient China. Odd numbers were considered yang, even numbers were yin, 9 was the largest number of yang, and the number 7 was next. The building finally appeared at the height of 597 meters. In addition, the overall appearance of the building is square and square, which means stable and sustainable. And the top of the building is designed in a diamond shape. This coincides with the ancient idea that the sky is round and the earth is square. From this point of view, if Tianjin 117 is ever completed, it is bound to become a dazzling landmark skyscraper, so how does it become an unfinished building? This is our content today. Pan Sutong, a wealthy Hong Kong businessman, owned the 117 building. As Sina reported in 2007, Pan won five plots that were side-by-side in Tianjin, where he planned to build a new Beijing-Tianjin Golden World, which would include the country's tallest building, a mansion, and a polo field. Then he established Golden Properties and Golden Financial from two Hong Kong-listed companies that he acquired in 2002 and 2008. Golden raised more to build the building from 2005 to 2010 by issuing new shares and convertible bonds. Golden Properties Holdings released news that it had invested 40 billion yuan or $5.83 billion for the building since the start of the project when the building was nearly finished in 2015. Bearing the name of China's tallest building, the Tianjin 117 project pumped the stock price by nearly five times to HK$27.86 or HK$3.55 in just two months in 2015. But expensive construction and maintenance costs, labor and material costs, and a long construction time, and Golden couldn't make ends meet when it entered the final stage of the process in 2015. With the construction suspended, the stock prices of two listed companies, Golden Properties and Golden Financial, in May 2015 plummeted by nearly half, evaporating more than HK$120 billion or HK$15.3 billion in one day. The construction of the building was suspended in 2016 due to a lack of money. Then China Sinda Asset Management and Tradewind Investment pumped 9 billion yuan or $1.3 billion into the project, and planned completion was two years ago. But then just a few pieces of glass were installed in a few months. China Sinda was very annoyed. It decided to sue. From there, Pan was entangled in lawsuits, and he was ordered into bankruptcy by the High Court in Hong Kong on July 8, 2022, and his controlling company was also liquidated. Besides, the location was also a reason for its failure. Initially, the 117 building was to have the world's tallest sightseeing hall of 579 meters on the 116th floor and the world's most elevated indoor swimming pool at 564 meters and the world's tallest revolving restaurant at 584 meters. These are facilities for the wealthy class, but Tianjin 117 is located in the Xicheng district of Tianjin, which is close to the suburbs of a second-tier city. So those who can afford that building do not need to go to such a remote place. As a result, the sales of 117 were poor. Some people said that they just sold several percent of the total area due to the high price. The unfavorable location and its owners were sued for bankruptcy. Its future is uncertain. Everyone knows its gloomy outlook.