#southeastern shanghai

[zvaigzdelasas]

The first shipment of products from the Baowu Liberia iron ore project arrived at Zhenjiang Port, and the project in neighboring Guinea is accelerating.

According to the latest news from China Baowu, the world’s largest steel company, on the afternoon of October 12, the “Changhai Binhai” ship, which had been sailing for more than a month, entered the river from the sea and successfully berthed at the No. 10 berth of Zhenjiang Port, Jiangsu. The “Changhang Binhai” ship is fully loaded with 45,000 tons of iron ore products from Liberia. This is also the first overseas self-produced iron ore product since Baowu Resources, a subsidiary of China Baowu, accelerated the development and construction of overseas resources.[...]

Liberia is only the beginning of Baowu Resources’ overseas strategy in Africa. Its neighboring country Guinea is becoming the next larger source of iron ore. The Simandou Iron Mine, located in Kairouane Province in southeastern Guinea, is the undeveloped iron ore with the largest reserves and the highest quality in the world. It has an initial annual production capacity of 120 million tons of high-quality iron ore.

Previously, on September 30, 2022, Baowu Resources and Win Alliance Simandou Holdings Company (Singapore) held cloud signings of the core terms of the cooperation agreement in Shanghai and Beijing regarding the cooperation on the northern block project of Simandou Iron Ore in Guinea. ceremony. This is also the official announcement of China Baowu’s “entry” into the northern Simandou project.

The project is also accelerating. On the afternoon of October 7, Baowu Resources and Simangdu Win Alliance signed a confirmation letter of shareholder agreement for the Simangdu Northern Block Project Mining Joint Venture Company at Baowu Building. Simandou Win Alliance (WCS) is a consortium formed by Singapore’s Winning International Group and Weiqiao Entrepreneurship Group. It holds the mining rights of the northern block of Simandou (Blocks 1 and 2).

The Simang Duying Alliance has an annual bauxite production capacity of 50 million tons in Guinea and experience in the construction and operation of the Dar-Saint-Saint-Saint-German Railway. It has unique advantages in ports, transfers, and ocean transportation.

Hu Wangming, Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of China Baowu, pointed out at the signing of the contract on October 7 that the security of ore resources is related to national strategy, and the Simandou project is of great significance to the security and resilience of the industrial chain and supply chain of China’s steel industry.

16 Oct 23

[fatehbaz]

On 6 July 1860, a British consul by the name of George Whittingham Caine arrived at the nondescript port of Swatow, today’s modern Shantou. He “disembarked from a warship to the cacophony of a seven-gun salute” and, following the obligatory hoisting of the Union Jack [...], “triumphantly declared the treaty port of Chaozhou ‘open’.” Yet unlike other treaty ports scattered along the maritime fringes of the tottering Qing empire, the British found themselves from the outset outflanked by established Chaozhouese (otherwise known as Chiuchow or Teochew) trading communities and failed to gain a foothold in the profitable local commodity trade in rice, sugar, beancake [...].

[T]he Chaozhouese emerged from a[n] [...] ungovernable corner of Guangdong and joined the ranks of the Fujianese and Cantonese as major players in commerce and commodity production, not only along China’s southeastern littoral but across the different territories washed by the South China Sea. The story of the rise of maritime Chaozhou is set against the backdrop of state attempts to subdue and pacify [the region] [...], the emergence of colonial states in Southeast Asia, and the booms and busts of the commodity trade. [...]

[F]rom 1869 to 1948, around six million laborers departed from the port of Swatow and fanned out across the Nanyang (or “Southern Ocean”) [...]. They worked in Chaozhouese-owned gambier, pepper, rice, sugar, rubber, and fruit plantations, toiled in the gold mines of West Borneo, and served as sailors in the intra-Asian junk trade. These overseas sojourners provided a steady trickle of remittances and in the process transformed the local economy [...] [and] brought Siam, Malaya, Borneo, French Indochina, Hong Kong and Shanghai within the orbit of maritime Chaozhou.

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The story of the heyday of maritime Chaozhou [...] is bookended by two defining moments; the ascent, following the collapse of Ayutthaya in 1767, of the half-Chaozhouese king of Siam, Taksin, and the catastrophic collapse of the global economy in the 1930s. [...] Ming and Qing [authorities] attempt[ed] to subjugate China’s unruly southeastern littoral. A series of interdictions and measures, ranging from the forced depopulation of complete coastal areas in the second half of the seventeenth century to Fang Yao’s [...] “pacification campaigns” in the 1860s, wreaked havoc but also buttressed anti-dynastic sentiments and reinforced Chaozhou’s maritime orientation. [...] These [...] campaigns triggered [...] migration of several generations of Chaozhouese men [... ]. Singapore's authorities were overwhelmed [...] [and this] worked as a catalyst for the British colonial project in the Straits Settlements. [...]

"Mexican dollars, Hong Kong dollars, French Indochinese piasters, Philippine pesos, Straits dollars and Japanese yen inundated local markets” and sustained a remittance-dependent Chaozhou economy that was always oriented towards the Nanyang and [...] removed from Beijing.

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But the steady influx of foreign-earned capital also had its shadows. Remittances exacerbated social divides [...]. Furthermore, the success stories of some protagonists, [...] whose fabulous wealth derived from their near-monopoly on gutta-percha during Malaya’s rubber boom, are matched by uncountable, and often irretrievable, stories of suffering and hardship.

Thousands of migrants embarked penniless as “credit ticket coolies” and were shipped under trying conditions to far-flung places where they then toiled for months to earn their passage fare back. [...]

Its leading merchants and brotherhoods competed as well as cooperated with colonial actors across Southeast Asia [...] and Chaozhou-controlled business ventures were crucial to the evolution of industrial capitalism both at home and overseas.

---

Text by: Yorim Spoelder. '"Distant Shores: Colonial Encounters on China's Maritime Frontier" by Melissa Macauley'. Asian Review of Books. 5 October 2021. [A book review published online in the Non-Fiction section of Asian Review of Books. Some paragraph breaks/contractions in this post added by me.]

[delhinewsinenglish]

Taiwan's strongest earthquake in nearly 25 years damages buildings, leaving 4 dead

Taiwan's strongest earthquake in a quarter century rocked the island during the morning rush hour Wednesday, damaging buildings and highways and causing the deaths of four people.

Taiwan's national fire agency said four people died in Hualien County and at least 57 were injured in the quake that struck just before 8 am. The local United Daily News reported three hikers died in rockslides in Taroko National Park near the offshore epicentre.

A five-storey building in Hualien appeared heavily damaged, collapsing its first floor and leaving the rest leaning at a 45-degree angle. In the capital Taipei, tiles fell from older buildings and in some newer office complexes, while debris fell from some building sites. Schools evacuated their students to sports fields, equipping them with yellow safety helmets. Some also covered themselves with textbooks to guard against falling objects as aftershocks continued.

Train service was suspended across the island of 23 million people, as was subway service in Taipei, where a newly constructed above-ground line partially separated. The national legislature, a converted school built before World War II, also had damage to walls and ceilings.

Traffic along the east coast was at a virtual standstill, with landslides and falling debris hitting tunnels and highways in the mountainous region. Those caused damage to vehicles, though it wasn't clear if anyone was hurt.

Despite the quake striking at the height of the morning rush hour just before 8 am, the initial panic faded quickly on the island, which is regularly rocked by temblors and prepares for them with drills at schools and notices issued via public media and mobile phone.

Authorities said they had only expected a relatively mild quake of magnitude 4 and accordingly did not send out alerts.

Still, the earthquake was strong enough to scare people who are used to such shaking.

“Earthquakes are a common occurrence, and I've grown accustomed to them. But today was the first time I was scared to tears by an earthquake,” Taipei resident Hsien-hsuen Keng said. ”I was awakened by the earthquake. I had never felt such intense shaking before.”

She said her fifth-floor apartment shook so hard that “apart from earthquake drills in elementary school, this was the first time I had experienced such a situation.”

Hualien was last struck by a deadly quake in 2018, which collapsed a historic hotel and other buildings. Taiwan's worst quake in recent years struck on September 21, 1999, with a magnitude of 7.7, causing 2,400 deaths, injuring around 100,000 and destroying thousands of buildings.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said a tsunami wave of 30 centimetres (about 1 foot) was detected on the coast of Yonaguni island about 15 minutes after the quake struck. Smaller waves were measured in Ishigaki and Miyako islands. Japan sent military aircraft to gather information about the impact around the Okinawa region.

Taiwan's earthquake monitoring agency gave the magnitude as 7.2 while the US Geological Survey put it at 7.4. It struck about 18 kilometres (11.1 miles) south-southwest of Hualien and was about 35 kilometres (21 miles) deep. Multiple aftershocks followed, and the USGS said one of the subsequent quakes was 6.5 magnitude and 11.8 kilometres (7 miles) deep. Shallower quakes tend to cause more surface damage.

The earthquake was felt in Shanghai and several provinces along China's southeastern coast, according to Chinese media. China and Taiwan are about 160 kilometres (100 miles) apart. China issued no tsunami warnings for the Chinese mainland.

Residents of China's Fujian province reported violent shaking, according to Jimu News, an online outlet. One man told Jimu that the shaking awakened him and lasted about a minute.

In the Philippines, residents along the northern coast were told to evacuate to higher ground, but no major tsunami was reported about three hours after the quake.

Villagers in the provinces of Batanes, Cagayan, Ilocos Norte and Isabela were asked not to return to their homes until the tsunami alert was lifted, Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology Teresito Bacolcol said.

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said there has been no report of injury or damage in Japan. He urged the residents in the Okinawa region to stay on high ground until all tsunami advisories are lifted. He cautioned people against disinformation and urged them to stay calm and assist others.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no tsunami threat to Hawaii or the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam. About three hours after the earthquake, it said the threat had largely passed for all areas with waves being reported only in Taiwan and southern Japan.

Taiwan lies along the Pacific “Ring of Fire," the line of seismic faults encircling the Pacific Ocean where most of the world's earthquakes occur.

Source : Taiwan's strongest earthquake in nearly 25 years damages buildings, leaving 4 dead

[indiaepost]

China activates emergency response to flooding as Typhoon Bebinca nears

China’s Ministry of Water Resources has issued a Level-IV emergency response to flooding in Shanghai, and the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui. Strong rain caused by the approaching Typhoon Bebinca will hit China’s southeastern regions, and the water levels of some medium and minor rivers in the regions are projected to exceed warning thresholds, the Ministry said on Saturday. The…

[qocsuing]

Suzhou in China

Suzhou in China Suzhou, alternately romanized as Soochow, is a major city located in southeastern Jiangsu Province of East China. It is about 100 kilometers northwest of Shanghai, making it a significant economic center and focal point of trade and commerce.To get more news about suzhou china, you can visit shine news official website.

Founded in 514 BC, Suzhou has a long and productive history1. Around AD 100, during the Eastern Han dynasty, it became one of the ten largest cities in the world, mostly due to emigration from northern China1. Since the 10th century, Suzhou has been an important center of China’s industry and foreign trade.

Suzhou is also famous for its classical gardens, dating back to the 6th century BC, when the city was founded as the capital of the state of Wu. These gardens began emerging around the 4th century and reached their climax in the 18th century.

Today, Suzhou is a major economic center and a focal point of trade and commerce. It is the second-largest city in Jiangsu province, after its capital Nanjing. With high life expectancy and per capita incomes, Suzhou’s Human Development Index ratings are roughly comparable to a moderately developed country.

The city’s canals, stone bridges, pagodas, and meticulously designed gardens have contributed to its status as one of the top tourist attractions in China. Tourists can enjoy various activities such as sightseeing tours, full-day tours, cultural tours, historical tours, hiking tours, shopping malls, private day trips, rail tours, flea & street markets, water tours, shows, concerts & sports, specialty museums.

In conclusion, Suzhou is not just a city with a rich history and beautiful landscapes but also a thriving economic center. Whether you’re a history buff or an avid traveler looking for your next adventure, Suzhou has something to offer everyone.

[xtruss]

BRICS Summit in Xiamen, Southeastern China's Fujian Province on September 5, 2017. © Mark Schiefelbein/POOL/AFP

Dmitry Trenin: The Founder Members of BRICS Face a Historic Decision as They Attempt to Reshape the World Order

Expanding the membership and working towards financial independence from the West are two important challenges to be discussed at the Johannesburg summit

— Monday August 21th, 2023

Never has the BRICS group attracted so much interest around the world as in the run-up to the 15th leaders’ summit this week in Johannesburg.

This in itself shows the growth of the bloc's importance since its first gathering – at the level of economics ministers – on the margins of the St. Petersburg Economic Forum in 2006, and the initial proper summit in Ekaterinburg in 2009.

About 20 countries are reportedly seeking admission to the five-member organization and the list of countries that will be represented at the meeting in South Africa is three times as long. This is a sign of the times and points to two things: the yearning of many non-Western nations to become more consequential to how the world is run, and the growing pushback against self-serving Western dominance in global politics, economics, finance, and the media.

This does not mean, however, that BRICS (an acronym made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) will have an easy run in reshaping the world order. Ahead of the Johannesburg summit, two issues emerged as the main challenges to the group’s further evolution. One is expanding membership. A number of countries from all over the globe have lined up at BRICS' door, ready to walk in. These include Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Belarus, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cuba, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Going for a big-bang enlargement would be a loud statement, to the effect that an alternative to the US-led system of alliances and partnerships is being built. However, the question is would such an expansion make a much more diversified BRICS immediately stronger or not?

Within BRICS itself, views on enlargement differ. Yet, there is a model that can prove useful. Another non-Western group, with some of the same participant states, did manage the enlargement issue without diluting effectiveness. This was the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which started with Russia, China, and three Central Asian states. Over time, the SCO has found a formula for categories of participating countries and criteria-cum-processes for admitting new full members. The organization was able to extend its full membership to India and Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Iran, with a number of others in line for admission. If the SCO approach is adopted by BRICS, this could be a solution.

The other challenge for the bloc is coming up with new financial instruments to reduce the non-Western economies’ dependence on the dollar. Washington’s weaponization of its currency in its Hybrid War against Russia and its concurrent manipulation of trade and technology against China have made the issue urgent. Western restrictions have hampered the activities of the BRICS’ New Development Bank. Calls have been made for the group to create a common currency, to break the dollar's monopoly in world finance. Yet, it is self-evident that creating a reserve currency for five very different economies, of which China accounts for two-thirds of the combined nominal GDP of the group, will run up against the jealously guarded principle of national sovereignty. The original goal of achieving financial independence will not be met.

A more practical way would be to improve the currently growing practice of using national currencies in trade between BRICS countries. The yuan and ruble account for more than half of Sino-Russian commercial turnover; Russia accepts the rupee for the oil it ships to India; Brazil trades in yuan with China; and so on. While these transactions have the merit of being free from third-country interference, they can and do incur costs, due to the problems with convertibility of some currencies, their limited use outside the issuing country, and the instability of the exchange rate. These are the issues that need to be addressed. While a BRICS currency is still a long way off, it would make more sense to work on improving the system of international payments and settlements within the group.

BRICS is often compared to the G7. Yet, although is some ways the comparison can be justified, the two groups are fundamentally different in their ambition, structure, and evolution. The G7 is politically, economically and ideologically homogenous, while BRICS is rich in diversity on all counts; the G7 is essentially led by the United States, with the others, the ex-great powers, unquestionably accepting that leadership, whereas in BRICS, China’s economic weight does not translate into a Beijing hegemony. The G7 is globalist in the sense of seeking to project its models and morals on the rest of the world, and BRICS countries are wholly focused on their national sovereignty. At the same time, the G7 is clearly exclusive, with the West sitting clearly above the rest, while BRICS is just the opposite: it embraces the diversity of different civilizations and cultures.

The G7’s role is to preserve the old order in which the West is dominant; the BRICS members’ ambition is to build elements of a new, more diversified and better-balanced world order – first of all among themselves and then to further impact the evolution of the world system. BRICS is not an attempt to create a zero-sum alliance. It is the core of what one can call the World Majority that aims at development rather than dominance. The going will be hard and not unopposed but, with more pieces to the puzzle affixed, the foundation of a more open and inclusive world order will eventually emerge.

— Dmitry Trenin is a research professor at the Higher School of Economics and a lead research fellow at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations. He is also a member of the Russian International Affairs Council.

[sadisweetomi]

Int'l companies confident in China's innovation vitality

At the 2023 CES, Chinese companies impressed global exhibitors with innovative products and solutions, illustrating their emphasis on R&D investment and technology upgrades.

* "A lot of things happening in the tech world are starting in China and then are being extended to the world," said Oliver Zipse, chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG.

LOS ANGELES, -- At the recently concluded 2023 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, many multinational companies showed great interest in China's innovative products and solutions and expressed optimism about China's innovation vitality.

The world's premier tech show, which concluded over the weekend with more than 3,200 exhibitors from over 170 countries and regions, drew hundreds of Chinese companies, including well-known brands like TCL, Lenovo and Hisense, as well as startups.

Oliver Zipse, chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG, said the German auto giant would continue to deepen cooperation with its Chinese partners due to China's market and strong innovation capability.

In an interview with Xinhua and several other Chinese news outlets during the CES, Zipse said BMW is motivated to cooperate with its Chinese partners for two reasons. One is the market, as China has already been the largest market for BMW; the other is innovation since BMW's development strategy could only be realized with inspiration and innovation from China.

"A lot of things happening in the tech world are starting in China and then are being extended to the world," Zipse said, citing BMW's i7 Series, the latest electric luxury sedan launched in China in December, as the best example.

"The future of the BMW Group is very clear: digital, electric and circular. The future of the BMW Group also lies in the growth and the further development of our footprint in China. Because China is the frontrunner in all three strategic areas," he said. "I'm glad to see our strategic directions perfectly match the national policies of China."

More and more multinationals consider China one of the important production bases, sales markets and research and development (R&D) centers. According to Zipse, BMW has established the largest R&D and innovation team outside of Germany, with centers in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenyang, and Nanjing. Currently, BMW has about 3,200 employees in China that engaged in innovation-related work involving R&D, digitalization, electrification and other fields.

Jim Misener, senior director of product management for U.S. tech giant Qualcomm Technologies, also expressed his optimism about China's electric car innovation.

Misener said that China is leading the world in C-V2X (cellular vehicle-to-everything) technology development, mainly due to its government support and mature policies. "We always pointed to China when we talk to U.S. policymakers."

The C-V2X technology holds the potential to deliver transformational benefits in road safety and enhance environmental sustainability.

At the 2023 CES, Chinese companies impressed global exhibitors with innovative products and solutions, illustrating their emphasis on R&D investment and technology upgrades.

IRest, a massage equipment company based in China's southeastern Zhejiang Province, showcased different types of massage chairs, attracting a long line of visitors.

Liu Shijian, iRest's manager of the exhibition department, told Xinhua the company is committed to technology innovation and has introduced artificial intelligence in its 3D intelligent manipulator, which is the core technology of its massage chairs and can better assist programming and offer a personalized experience for consumers.

China's machinery and electronics industry has strong resilience, relatively complete industry chains and efficient supply chains, Shi Yonghong, vice president of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products, told Xinhua. Shi added that China has been the world's largest exporter of mechanical and electrical products since 2009.

[arun-pratap-singh]

Chinese who lost relatives to COVID angry at failure to protect elderly

People stand outside a funeral home, as coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak continues, in Shanghai, China, January 5, 2023. (Reuters/Staff/File Photo) BEIJING— Former high school teacher Ailia was devastated when her 85-year-old father died after displaying COVID-like symptoms as the virus swept through their hometown in the southeastern province of Jiangxi. While her father was never…

[technologiespiner]

Shrink savannah

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[beyourselfchulanmaria]

黃永玉 Huang Yongyu (b. 1924) Chinese.

江南Jiang Nan, China. 春 Spring.

'水仙 Narcissus' scroll, mounted and framed, 

彩墨畫 ink and colour on paper 1990.

I was travelling to there, It's really a beautiful and magical places, I love been there, I learned and studied about changed of China a lot parts, although some things bad happened on me... I still like that trip very much. and I think If I will not die soon lol I will be back to Jiang Nan (江南) traveling again, even you have to take much walking the way. 😊 Lan~*

📌 江南Jiangnan or Jiang Nan (Chiangnan/Chiang-nan) formerly romanized Kiang-nan：literally "South of the River" meaning "South of the Yangtze") is a geographic area in China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, including the southern part of its delta. The region encompasses the city of Shanghai, the southern part of Jiangsu Province, the southeastern part of Anhui Province, the northern part of Jiangxi Province and the northern part of Zhejiang Province. The most important cities in the area include Anqing, Changzhou, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Ningbo, Shaoxing, Suzhou, Wuxi, Wenzhou, and Zhenjiang.

Jiangnan has long been regarded as one of the most prosperous regions in China due to its wealth in trade and very high human development Most people of the region speak Wu Chinese dialects as their native languages.

[beardedmrbean]

Wuzhou, China — A Chinese aviation official said Wednesday that one of the two "black box" recorders had been found, in severely damaged condition, two days after a China Eastern flight crashed in southern China with 132 people on board.

The device is so damaged that investigators weren't able to tell whether it's the flight data recorder or the cockpit voice recorder, said Mao Yanfeng, the director of the accident investigation division of the Civil Aviation Authority of China.

He told a news conference that an all-out effort is being made to find the other black box.

Recovering the so-called black boxes - they are usually painted orange for visibility - is considered key to figuring out what caused the crash. It wasn't clear if the damage to the recovered one would limit its usefulness.

The search for clues into why a Chinese commercial jetliner dove suddenly and crashed into a mountain in southern China had been suspended earlier Wednesday as rain slickened the debris field and filled the red-dirt gash formed by the plane's fiery impact.

Searchers had been using hand tools, drones and sniffer dogs under rainy conditions to comb the heavily forested slopes for the recorders and human remains. Crews also worked to pump water from the pit created when the plane hit the ground, but their efforts were suspended around midmorning because small landslides were possible on the steep, slick slopes.

The black box was found in the afternoon. The flight data recorder captures information about the plane's airspeed, altitude, direction up or down, pilot actions, and performance of all key systems. The cockpit voice recorder captures sounds including conversations and background engine noise during the flight.

Relatives of passengers began arriving Wednesday at the gate to Lu village just outside the crash zone, where they, along with reporters on the scene, were stopped by police and officials who used opened umbrellas to block the view beyond.

One woman was overheard saying her husband, the father of their two children, had been on board the flight.

"I'm just going in there to take a look. Am I breaking the law?" she said. The woman and a companion were then escorted away and reporters were told to stop filming.

Another man, who gave just his surname, Ding, said his sister-in-law had been on the plane. He said he hoped to visit the site but had been told little byauthorities.

"We're just coming here to have a look," said Ding, adding, "My heart sank all of a sudden," upon hearing about the crash. He too was escorted away.

China Eastern Flight 5735 was carrying 123 passengers and nine crew from Kunming in Yunnan province to Guangzhou, an industrial center on China's southeastern coast, when it crashed Monday afternoon outside the city of Wuzhou in the Guangxi region. All 132 people on board are presumed killed.

Investigators say it's too early to speculate on the cause. The plane went into an unexplained dive an hour after departure and stopped transmitting data 96 seconds into its fall.

An air-traffic controller tried to contact the pilots several times after seeing the plane's altitude drop sharply, but got no reply, a grim-faced Zhu Tao, director of the Office of Aviation Safety at the Civil Aviation Authority of China, said at a Tuesday evening news conference.

"As of now, the rescue has yet to find survivors," Zhu said. "The public security department has taken control of the site."

China Eastern is headquartered in Shanghai and is one of China's three largest carriers with more than 600 planes, including 109 Boeing 737-800s. China's Transport Ministry said China Eastern has grounded all of its 737-800s, a move that could further disrupt domestic air travel already curtailed because of the largest COVID-19 outbreak in China since the initial peak in early 2020.

The Boeing 737-800 has been flying since 1998 and has a well-established safety record. It's an earlier model than the 737 Max, which was grounded worldwide for nearly two years after deadly crashes in 2018 and 2019.

Monday's crash was China's worst in more than a decade. In August 2010, an Embraer ERJ 190-100 operated by Henan Airlines hit the ground short of the runway in the northeastern city of Yichun and caught fire. It carried 96 people and 44 of them died. Investigators blamed pilot error.

[zvaigzdelasas]

Following the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Uzbekistan in September, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared that Turkey intends to become a full member of the SCO, a China-led Eurasian intergovernmental political, economic, and security organization. At present, Turkey is a dialogue member. Full membership would make Turkey the only North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member in the SCO. While Erdogan’s declaration suggests that Ankara is seeking alternatives to its often tense relations with the West, it can also be seen in the context of Turkey’s growing influence in Central Asia and broader geopolitical ambitions.  Following the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991, Ankara set up the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency to increase cultural and economic ties with the Central Asian countries. A couple of decades later, in 2009, the Cooperation Council of the Turkic Speaking States (known as the Turkic Council) was formally established. In 2021, the council decided to rename itself as the Organization of Turkic States. Made up of five members –  Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan – and two observer states (Hungary and Turkmenistan), the organization’s participant states are home to around 170 million people and a combined GDP of $1.5 trillion. The trade volume among these countries is estimated at $16 billion.  [...] Sales of one of Turkey’s most powerful and lucrative exports – arms – have boosted the country’s image in Central Asia. Used by Ukraine to destroy Russian military hardware, by Azerbaijan against Armenia in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, and elsewhere,Turkey’s drones have also attracted the interest of Central Asian countries. Turkmenistan, for instance, a long-time client of Turkish arms, bought more than one Bayraktar TB2. Kyrgyzstan also bought Turkish drones in 2021 and established a new base for drones last month. Likewise, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan have expressed interest in Turkish drones, while Kazakhstan has agreed to begin domestic production of Turkey’s Anka drones. [...]

Ankara’s greater engagement with Central Asia is partly driven by Turkey’s energy needs and regional energy transit hub ambitions. Given the country’s limited domestic energy reserves, despite significant gas finds in the Black Sea in 2020, Turkey remains significantly dependent on external energy supplies. Ankara is particularly keen to secure energy supplies and transportation corridors that neither Russia nor Iran, eager to develop its own trade with Central Asia, has a monopoly over.

Further linking Turkey’s energy needs and interest in Central Asia is Ankara’s backing of Azerbaijan in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Aside from gaining greater access to Azerbaijani gas and the Caspian Sea, Turkey’s support for Azerbaijan, Ankara’s biggest gas supplier in 2019–2020, will likely result in improved access to Turkmenistan’s enormous gas reserves alongside potential trilateral cooperation hydrocarbon exploration. Such efforts will likely strengthen Ankara’s regional energy hub ambitions through energy infrastructure projects like the proposed Trans-Caspian Pipeline (TCP). The TCP aims to pump gas from Turkmenistan to Azerbaijan and onward into the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) that runs via Turkey into southeastern Europe. [...]

Another aspect to consider is Turkey’s push for greater regional and economic connectivity. By positioning itself as an alternative to Russia’s position in China’s Belt and Road, Ankara seeks to expand its sphere of influence and role in Eurasian and global markets, connecting China, Central Asia, and Europe. While Moscow may still influence Central Asia, this influence appears to be waning, resulting in Central Asian governments eager to find alternative partners.

The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), also known as the Middle Corridor, is a multilateral, multimodal transport route. The route connects China to Turkey and Europe via Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. Estimates suggest that TITR will transport between 75,000 to 100,000 containers annually. Rather than traversing across Russia, which has been the main land link between China and Europe for decades, TITR bypasses Russia with the newly built 826-kilometer-long Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway. The BTK railway, sometimes referred to as the Turkish version of the New Silk Road, stretches from the Caspian Sea port of Alat in Baku, Azerbaijan, across Georgia to the city of Kars, Turkey, for access to European markets. 

The China-Kazakhstan-Uzbekistan (CKU) railway project, estimated to cost around $4.5 billion, aims to connect China to Europe via Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran, and Turkey. In so doing, it aims to reduce the journey by around 900 kilometers and eight days as well as bypass Russia. Following a tripartite online meeting held by China, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan earlier this year, China’s National Development and Reform Commission announced in early June that construction of the transnational CKU railway would begin in spring 2023. Currently, preparations for the three countries to carry out a feasibility study are underway. [...] With the European Union and the United States criticizing Turkey’s human rights record and the U.S. imposing various sanctions on Turkey over the years, Ankara has strengthened relations with its non-Western partners. In 2021, after Turkey bought Russian S-400 defense systems, the U.S. sanctioned Turkey, and removed the country from a U.S.-led program developing F-35 fighter jets.  [...] Meanwhile, Russia is one of Turkey’s main energy suppliers. Its state atomic energy company, Rosatom, is also building Turkey’s first nuclear power plant. [...] Although Beijing has repeatedly warned Ankara not to become involved in Uyghur issues, various conservative and nationalist groups in Turkey are keen for their government to have a say in the issue. An extradition treaty between the two countries was ratified by China in 2020, but Ankara has not done so yet. [...] For Central Asian countries, Turkey’s rise as a Eurasian power is set to result in new trade opportunities and regional connectivity by transporting goods and potentially people between the various countries in the region. At the same time, Turkey’s involvement enables greater access to the European and global markets for Central Asian countries and China without the involvement of Russia. Central Asian countries could further capitalize on this by taking advantage of these opportunities to secure their own interests, independent of Russia and China. However, the growing use of drones from Turkey may also exacerbate disputes and tensions between Central Asia countries, particularly Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

13 Oct 22

[architectnews]

Architecture of 2020: Buildings of the Year

Architecture in 2020, Buildings of the Year, Architects, Major Property Designs, Photos

Architecture of 2020: New Buildings

e-architect Selection of Key Contemporary Architectural Developments

post updated 13 May 2021 ; post updated 1 Jan 2021 ; 20 + 19 + 18 Dec 2020

Major Architecture of 2020

The winner is clearly REE Campus, Madrid, Spain, polling a massive 37.46%, with a total of 481 votes

REE Campus, Madrid, Spain Architects: IDOM photo : Aitor Ortiz REE Campus in Madrid

In second place is the Loop of Wisdom, Chengdu, China, with 28.58% of the total vote, and 367 votes

Loop of Wisdom, Chengdu, south west China Architects: Powerhouse Company photo : Jonathan Leijonhufvud Architectural Photography Loop of Wisdom Museum in Chengdu

In third place is Cosmote TV HQ and Studios, Athens, Greece, with 25.23% of the vote and 324 votes.

Cosmote TV HQ and Studios, Athens, Greece Design: LC Architects photo © Nikos Daniilidis Cosmote TV HQ and Studios in Athens

Happy New Year to our readers!

e-architect have selected some key buildings of 2020.

Our parameters? Architecture designs that stimulate, buildings that ask significant questions, designs that show creativity and innovation.

We have considered the year’s international architecture highlights to pick out the key buildings of the year. We are deliberately not considering the complex task of selecting ‘winners’.

(Adrian Welch, e-architect editor)

We are focusing this year only on completed buildings, not building designs (ie unbuilt proposals).

Buildings / designs are listed in georgaphical order, per our folder structure.

We are still adding projects today, this list wll be finalised over the weekend!

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A further selection of buildings around the world – shortlisted but not in the final cut:

Buildings of 2020

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Yes, you can now vote on your favourite project:

Architecture of 2020 – which is best?

Major Buildings completed in 2020

Architecture in 2020 – latest additions to this page, arranged chronologically:

AMERICA – USA

False Bay Writer’s Cabin, San Juan Islands, Washington Architects: Olson Kundig photo : Tim Bies / Olson Kundig False Bay Writer’s Cabin, San Juan Island This five-hundred-square-foot cabin serves as a private writer’s retreat and guest cottage. The owners of False Bay Writer’s Cabin asked for a space that felt connected to its island setting—the mild climate, scenic views, and proximity to wildlife. At the same time, they needed a structure that could be easily secured when not in use.

Red Rocks Residence, Camelback Mountain, Phoenix, Arizona Architect: The Ranch Mine photograph : Roehner + Ryan Red Rocks Residence in Phoenix, Arizona Clinging to the side of Camelback Mountain in Phoenix, Arizona, a Spanish Colonial Revival style house has been transformed into a modern dwelling that creates and elevates a variety of experiences with both the natural and man-made environment.

LR2 Residence, Pasadena, California Design: Montalba Architects photography : Kevin Scott LR2 Residence in Pasadena, California The modern American esidence overlooks Pasadena and its adjacent mountains from its hillside perch. This new 4,200-sqft house is made up of several distinct living volumes and programs.

AMSTERDAM

Diamond Exchange, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Design: ZJA photo © Capital C Amsterdam Diamond Exchange, Capital C Amsterdam The Diamond Exchange, Capital C Amsterdam in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, has been awarded with a prestigious MIPIM Award 2020 for ‘Best Refurbished Building’ at the Paris Real Estate Week. The historical building, designated as  a national monument, has undergone a major renovation designed by the architectural office ZJA in collaboration with Heyligers design + projects.

ATHENS

Cosmote TV HQ and Studios, Athens, Greece Design: LC Architects photo © Nikos Daniilidis Cosmote TV HQ and Studios Designed by London-based architecture and design practice LC Architects, Cosmote TV HQ and Studios is a new, innovative building inspired by contemporary media and the constant flow of information.

BANGKOK

Power Wing, Bangkok, Thailand Design: Openbox Group and Openbox Architects photo : Panoramic Studio Car Parking Solar Roof Bangkok After many success OPENBOX design interventions for large scale projects, B. Grimm Power send us a brief to help creating an awareness of the important of sustainable energy to public. The brief was to create an iconic piece of landmark at their Headquarters Office, that can send a strong message.

BEIJING

Courtyard Kindergarten, Beijing Design: MAD Architects photo © ArchExist Courtyard Kindergarten by MAD Architects A kindergarten sited next to a senior citizens’ apartment, reflecting the client’s “intergenerational integration” ethos that blends pre-school education and elder care. The 9,275 sqm site consists of an 18th century Siheyuan courtyard, an adjacent replica courtyard built in the 1990s, and a four-story modern building.

Beijing Zhongshuge Lafayette store interior, Beijing Architects: X+LIVING photo : Wu Qingshan Beijing Zhongshuge Lafayette store design It’s the second time for Zhongshuge bookstore to land in Beijing. This time it joins Lafayette department store, where the classical gardens and the reading space collided from three different perspectives in the fashionable commercial area.

CANADA

New Central Library, Alberta Architects: Snøhetta and DIALOG photography © Michael Grimm New Central Library in Calgary Calgary’s New Central Library aims to welcome over twice as many as previously annual visitors to its 240,000 SF of expanded facilities, the library will fill a vital role for the rapidly expanding city. As Calgary’s largest public investment since the 1988 Olympics, the library signals the beginning of a new chapter in the life of the city, one centered on the creation and innovation of knowledge and culture.

CHINA

Yabuli Entrepreneurs’ Congress Center, North east China Design: MAD Architects photo © ArchExist Yabuli Entrepreneurs’ Congress Center Nestled in the snow-covered mountains of Northeastern China, the project was commissioned by the Yabuli China Entrepreneurs Forum (Yabuli CEF), one of China’s most influential business organizations. November 18th to 20th saw the venue’s opening ceremony and its first event, the Yabuli CEF’s 20th annual conference, attended by over 600 entrepreneurs.

Regeneration – Free Spring Morning, Suzhou, China Design: LACIME Architects photo © SHANJIAN Photography Studio Free Spring Morning, Suzhou Building As rational consumerism prevails, the traditional real estate design model of spending a lot of money to build a luxury sales office is fading away. The sales office is one of the most important design elements in real estate design, and this element is now going to two extremes – permanent sales offices are paying more attention to the pursuit of high quality, and temporary sales offices are increasingly looking for rapid efficiency.

Yingliang Stone Natural History Museum, Fujian, South East China Design: Atelier Alter Architects photograph : Atelier Alter Architects Yingliang Stone Natural History Museum, Fujian Over the years of stone mining, the manufacture has discovered numerous fossils. The manufacture decides to dedicate the headquarter building to a museum to tell the history of the fossils and the natural science of researching the fossil. There are two major challenges during the renovation process.

OCT Chuzhou Minghu Experience Center, Chuzhou, Anhui Province Design: Lacime Architects photograph : Schran Images OCT Chuzhou Minghu Experience Center The project site is located in the Minghu Lake area, the southeastern part of the planned new town of Chuzhou city, Anhui Province. It is adjacent to Chuzhou-Yangzhou Expressway and the Beijing-Shanghai High-speed Railway, surrounded with a favorable landscape environment.

Changzhou Culture Center Architect: gmp · von Gerkan, Marg and Partners · Architects photography © Schran Images Changzhou Culture Center Building In the Chinese province of Jiangsu, within the catchment area of Shanghai, lies the city of Changzhou which, with its about 5 million inhabitants, has developed into an important industrial metropolis in the Yangtze Delta region. In the newly created city center of Changzhou, the architects von Gerkan, Marg and Partners (gmp) have created a cultural center with an art museum, library, hotel, offices, and retail areas.

SigMann Showroom, Guangzhou Architects: Spring Design Office image : b+m studio/ Kelvin SigMann Showroom Guangzhou SigMann is a cabinet and home furnishings brand, the name of which is derived from “Sig” and “Manna”. “Sig” is the abbreviation of “special interest group”, which represents cultivated, decent and tasteful elites, while “Manna” comes from Bible and implies food for thought.

Longfu Life Experience Center, Puyang County, Henan Province, China Design: LUO studio photo : Jin Weiqi Longfu Life Experience Center Real estate sales center is a kind of temporary architecture that can only last several months or few years at most, which is usually dismantled after houses are sold out. Even if it can be preserved in few cases, functions are completely transformed.

Loop of Wisdom, Chengdu, south west China Architects: Powerhouse Company photo : Jonathan Leijonhufvud Architectural Photography Loop of Wisdom Museum, Chengdu Living up to the suggestiveness of its name, the Loop of Wisdom embodies a timeless architectural concept. Powerhouse Company’s design for a technology museum and reception center for a new neighborhood in Chengdu, China, is much more than an exuberant landmark.

Imperial Kiln Museum, Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Architects: Studio Zhu-Pei photography : schranimage, Tian Fangfang, Zhang Qinquan, courtesy of Studio Zhu-Pei Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Museum, Jiangxi Located in the center of the historical area, the site of the Imperial Kiln Museum is adjacent to the Imperial Kiln ruins surrounding many ancient kiln complexes. Jingdezhen is known as the “Porcelain Capital” in the world because it has been producing pottery for 1,700 years.

Pingshan Performing Arts Center, Shenzhen, south east China Design: OPEN Architecture photo © Zeng Tianpei Pingshan Performing Arts Center, Shenzhen In tandem with China’s economic boom and rapid urbanization, theaters have sprung up throughout the country in the past decade. Most have extravagant exteriors, but are often spatially monotonous and far detached from the general public and everyday urban life, greatly underutilizing the tremendous public resources invested in them.

Yifang Art Center, Chongqing, south west China Design: YIHE Landscape Architecture photo : Arch-Exist Yifang Art Center in Yubei District, Chongqing The Yifang Art Center project is in a newly developed Dazhulin district in the north of Chongqing downtown. When YIHE Landscape Architecture first visited the site, it had an unfinished concrete structure from previous development.

Kaihua County 1101 Project and Urban Archives, Kaihua County, Zhangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, China Design: The Architectural Design & Research Institute of Zhejiang University Co., Ltd photo © Zhou Yifan Kaihua County 1101 Project and Urban Archives This bold Chinese architectural project was commissioned by Kaihua County Urban Construction and Development Co., Ltd. to design a comprehensive office building with three functional requirements: the Urban Archives and the Civil Defense Command Center and the Housing and Construction Bureau at the entrance of the scenic spot. The project has a superior geographical position.

Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen Architects: Rocco Design Architects Associates image courtesy of architects office Chinese University of Hong Kong Campus Shenzhen The CUHK SZ brings the global perspective and academic excellence to the city Shenzhen – China’s rapidly-growing innovation and tech hub.

White Square, G54 exhibition center, Nanjing Design: MINGGU DESIGN photograph : Xia Zhi White Square, G54 exhibition center White Square, located at No.99 Yunxi road, the central area of Nanjing airport city. With the construction development of new airport city, a vast comparative maturity residential area has been built.

Gongshu Intelligence Valley’s Eye, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Interior design: E+LAB photograph : Schran Images – Su shengliang Gongshu Intelligence Valley’s Eye Hangzhou The Eye of Intelligence Valley is the exhibition center in the intelligence valley town in Hangzhou. It is a multi-functional public building for culture display, investment attraction, office meeting, recreation and etc. The design philosophy starts with the geometric relation of ‘round sky and square earth’.

Sunac · Grand Milestone Modern Art Center, Xi’an City Interior design: Cheng Chung Design (HK) photo © Qilin Zhang Sunac · Grand Milestone Modern Art Center in Xi’an Erecting in the magnificent ancient capital Xi’an with a modern and stylish gesture, Sunac · Grand Milestone Modern Art Center appears like a large crystal “gift box”, which brings amazing fashionable touches to the land featuring a long history and profound culture. It aims to become a city landmark, and to lead the trend of the era.

Shou County Culture and Art Center, Anhui Architects: Studio Zhu-Pei photograph : Schran Images Shou County Culture and Art Center Shou County is located in the center of Anhui Province, on the south bank of Huai River. In ancient times, it was the home of the Chu culture and where Liu An, King of Huainan, edited a compendium of ancient Chinese philosophy and composed poetry.

National Maritime Museum, Tianjin, north east China Design: Cox Architecture photograph : Terrence Zhang National Maritime Museum of China in Tianjin Major new cultural landmark for China takes its place on the Global stage China’s first National Maritime Museum has now commenced formal operation, the culmination of a 6-year process which began with an international design competition, followed by an intensive design and construction process.

COSTA RICA

Santiago Hills Villa Santa Teresa, Costa Rica Architects: Studio Saxe photograph : Andres Garcia Lachner Santiago Hills Villa in Santa Teresa This stunning wing-like roofline houses a dramatic white villa in the Costa Rica jungle.

DUBAI

The Opus, Dubai, UAE Design: Zaha Hadid Architects photograph : Laurian Ghinitoiu The Opus Hotel in Dubai Home to the new ME Dubai hotel, The Opus is located in the Burj Khalifa district adjacent to Downtown Dubai and Business Bay on the Dubai Water Canal.

FRANCE

Belaroia Hotel and Apartments, Montpellier, France Design: Manuelle Gautrand Architecture photo © Luc Boegly Belaroia Hotel and Apartments in Montpellier Belaroia Hotel and Apartments is an important project for the City of Montpellier and its development agency, the SERM, as it holds a strategic position between the city’s hyper-centre, characterised by its escutcheon form in plan, and new surrounding districts that have appeared in succession.

MEETT Exhibition and Convention Centre, Toulouse, southern France Design: OMA photograph : Marco Cappelletti, Courtesy of OMA MEETT Exhibition and Convention Centre MEETT, Toulouse’s new Exhibition and Convention Centre designed by OMA / Chris van Duijn, has been completed, becoming the third largest parc des expositions in France outside of Paris.The 155,000 sqm project incorporates exhibition halls, a convention centre, a multi-function event hall, a car park silo for 3,000 cars and a transportation hub with a new tram station.

GREECE

Two Summer Houses in Andros, northern Greek Cyclades archipelago Design: Praxitelis Kondylis Architects image from architecture office Summer Houses in Andros Nestled among Andros’ wild mountains, fecund valleys and waterfalls, this complex consists of two detached houses covering around 600m2 in land of 9200m2. Modern and rigorous, the design bears clear lines and is organically linked to the natural landscape of Andros.

KOREA, REPUBLIC OF

Hankook Technoplex, Pangyo, outskirts of Seoul Design: Foster + Partners photo : TIME OF BLUE Hankook Technoplex in Pangyo The new building embraces several themes that are symbolic of Hankook’s desire to create a dynamic office environment that supports flexible working styles, as the company looks towards the future.

Galleria Department Store, Gwanggyo Design: OMA Photography by Hong Sung Jun, courtesy of OMA Galleria Department Store in Gwanggyo The Galleria is Korea’s first and largest upscale department store franchise founded in the 1970s, and has remained at the forefront of the premium retail market in the country since then.

MADRID

REE Campus, Madrid, Spain Architects: IDOM photo : Aitor Ortiz REE Campus Red Eléctrica de España has commissioned IDOM for the comprehensive rehabilitation of two buildings in the Tres Cantos Technology Park (Madrid). The action includes a comprehensive adaptation to the new training and technological needs of the company, modernizing the set of buildings through an envelope that enables compliance with energy efficiency requirements.

MANCHESTER

The Oglesby Centre, Manchester, England, UK Architects: Stephenson Studio photos : Daniel Hopkinson Architectural Photography Extension to Hallé St. Peter’s, Ancoats The new extension, The Oglesby Centre, is conceived as a classically proportioned modernist metaphor of the existing proportions of St Peter’s massing.

MEXICO

Solaz Los Cabos Hotel, San José del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico Design: Sordo Madaleno Arquitectos photograph : Rafael Gamo Solaz Los Cabos Hotel in San José del Cabo The extraordinary natural surroundings of the peninsula of Baja California with its semi-desert landscape provides an ideal selected context for the construction of a new landmark hotel for the country.

MILAN

MEET Digital Arts Center, Milan, Italy Design: CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati and Italo Rota photograph : Michele Nastasi MEET Digital Arts Center CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati and Italo Rota unveil MEET – Milan’s center for digital culture and creative technology. Occupying a newly renovated historic palazzo, the building revolves around a 15-meter-high vertical plaza. The design investigates how physical space can foster serendipity and unexpected connections between people in a digital world. MEET will open to the public on October 31st, 2020.

MONTREAL

Caffettiera Caffé Bar, Montréal, Québec, Canada Design: Ménard Dworkind Architecture & Design – MRDK photo © David Dworkind Caffettiera Montréal Caffé Bar In Italy, going to the coffee bar is not just about the coffee. It’s about taking a break from the day, meeting up with friends or taking the time to contemplate life. Caffettiera Caffé Bar aims to bring that culture to North America at its 745-square-foot commercial space in the heart of downtown Montreal.

MOSCOW

n.n. – Residence, beside the River Moskva near Moscow, Russia Design: J. MAYER H. und Partner, Architekten mbB, with Alexander Erman architecture & design photo : Ilya Ivanov n.n. – Residence near Moscow n.n. represents a spatial exploration between concealment and exposure. This layered topography blurs the line separating landscape and construction. It is the private residence of a family in a rural area along the River Moskva.

NEW YORK

111 West 57th Street, Manhattan, NYC Design: ShoP Architects photograph courtesy of 111 West 57th Street A design tour de force embraces the classic New York skyscraper and artisan tradition and thoughtfully restores the cultural landmark Steinway Hall. A bold yet graceful residential tower that soars perfectly centered over Central Park in Midtown Manhattan.

PARIS

Public Condenser, Ile-de-France, France Design: Muoto Architects photograph : Maxime Delvaux Public Condenser in Gif-sur-Yvette, Paris-Saclay The project is a public facility, situated on the new campus of Paris-Saclay. The building hosts a mix of activities including indoor and outdoor sports facilities, a restaurant, cafeteria, and various public spaces: a pedestrian square, street terraces, park areas for deliveries, bikes and cars.

PERTH, AUSTRALIA

North Perth House, Perth, Western Australia Design: Architect Nic Brunsdon photo : Ben Hosking North Perth House The North Perth House is an urban-infill project in inner-city Perth. Located on a small block, the design responds by providing a variety of spaces, determined by a simple structural arrangement.

PRAGUE

Five, Smíchov, Prague, Czech Republic Design: QARTA ARCHITEKTURA photo : BoysPlayNice Five Smíchov “History meets future”, declares the fitting motto chosen for the project Five, located in Prague 5 – Smíchov. A tram depot building occupied the project site, but that could have been called a relic even when it was built. While forming an important endpoint in the city transport system, complicated access had been its disadvantage right from the beginning.

QATAR

Doha Metro Network, Doha, Qatar Architects: UNStudio Interior Msheireb (interchange) Station. photo © Hufton+Crow Doha Metro Network Stations With the Doha Metro, Qatar Railways has created one of the most advanced and fastest driverless metro systems in the world. Phase one of the project involved the construction of three metro lines (Red, Green and Gold), with 37 stations currently having been completed.

ROTTERDAM

Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, The Netherlands Design: MVRDV, architects Aerial photograph of Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen © Ossip van Duivenbode Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen, the first publicly accessible art depot in the world designed by MVRDV, has completed construction. Located in Rotterdam’s Museumpark, the depot features a new type of experience for museum visitors: a sturdy engine room where the complete collection of 151,000 objects is made accessible to the public.

SAUDI ARABIA

KAPSARC, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Design: Zaha Hadid Architects – ZHA photo : Hufton+Crow King Abdullah Petroleum Studies & Research Centre King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Centre is a non-profit institution for independent research into policies that contribute to the most effective use of energy to provide social wellbeing across the globe. The 70,000 sqm KAPSARC campus incorporates five buildings.

King Fahad National Library, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Design: Professor Eckhard Gerber – Gerber Architekten photograph : Christian Richter King Fahad National Library Riyadh The King Fahad National Library, one of the most important cultural buildings in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, was completed and went into use for its intended purpose in 2015. This project sees Professor Eckhard Gerber and his Gerber Architekten team accomplishing one of the most important urban development and cultural projects in the capital, Riyadh.

SHANGHAI

Suzhou Financial Center Exhibition Hall, Shanghai, China Architects: Shanghai Riqing Architectural Design Co., Ltd. photograph : Schran Images Suzhou Financial Center Exhibition Hall This architectural project is located in the central section next to Suzhou Canal, where there is a grand canal view in the distance and urban trunk road in close proximity. The architects explore inherent logic of local cultural form and language and apply them to the design to stimulate the vitality of surrounding open space and make it the city parlor for residents.

Ports 1961, Shanghai, China Architects: UUfie photo : Shengliang Su Ports 1961 Flagship Store Located at a major high-end commercial district at the intersection of Changde Road and Nanjing West Road, a new façade is created for the flagship store of fashion house Ports 1961.

SINGAPORE

Apple Marina Bay Sands, Singapore Design: Foster + Partners photo : Finbarr Fallon Apple Marina Bay Sands A new distinctive 30-metre-diameter structure is a fully glazed dome with a black glass base, complementing the sister pavilions through its scale and materiality.

SPAIN

House Of The Sun, Marbella, Costa del Sol, Andalucia, Southern Spain Design: Fran Silvestre Arquitectos image from Fran Silvestre Arquitectos House Of The Sun in Marbella Fran Silvestre Arquitectos have always been fascinated by the work of Andreu Alfaro “The door of the Universe” made in 1983. A circle rotated and suspended over a square.

House Of The Silence, Valencia, eastern Spain Design: Fran Silvestre Arquitectos photo : Fernando Guerra, FG + SG House Of The Silence, Valencia The House Of The Silence project consists of making a musician’s studio coexist with his home. It is located in a residential area near Valencia, where neighboring houses are very close to each other.

SWITZERLAND

Kunsthaus Zürich, Switzerland Design: David Chipperfield Architects Berlin photograph : Noshe Kunsthaus Zürich Building After twelve years of planning and construction, the extension for the Kunsthaus Zürich is now complete. On 11 December 2020, the keys to the new building were handed over to its future user in an online ceremony. The house will open to the public in October 2021.

SYDNEY

The Waterfront Retreat, Newport, New South Wales, Australia Architecture: Koichi Takada Architects photo : Tom Ferguson Photography The Waterfront Retreat Newport, NSW The Waterfront Retreat is the epitome of an Australian dream home, adorned with a private beach, garden and open-plan living. Responding the clients’ brief – a house offering sanctuary and entertainment, the Waterfront Retreat is designed to allow nature to lead, offering maximum seclusion and connection to its surrounds and outlook.

THAILAND

Apple Central World, Bangkok, Thailand Design: Foster + Partners with Architects 49 Ltd. photograph © Apple Apple Central World Bangkok Apple Central World in Bangkok welcomed its first visitors. Located in one of the city’s iconic urban centers, the new store establishes a quiet sculptural presence at the heart of the bustling Central World Square on the intersection of Rama I and Ratchadamri roads.

TAIWAN

Lè Architecture, Taipei, Taiwan Architects: Aedas photo courtesy of architects Lè Architecture in Taipei Designed by Global Design Principal Dr Andy Wen, Lè Architecture in the Nangang district of Taipei redefines Taipei’s rapidly developing skyline. Its design drew inspiration from the shape of the river pebbles along the Keelung River, developing a unique aesthetic concept that conveys the idea of roundness and elegance, as well as strength and character.

VIETNAM

EcoKid Kindergarten, Vinh, near Hanoi, Vietnam Architects: LAVA with Module K and Viet Décor photo : Hiroyuki Oki EcoKid Kindergarten Vinh, Vietnam The design of a new eco-kindergarten by LAVA with Module K and Viet Décor features spaces encouraging curiosity, activity-based learning and interaction with nature for the next generation of Vietnamese children.

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Vote please! Vote

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A further selection of buildings around the world:

Buildings of 2020

Architecture Awards

Contemporary Architectural Awards – selection:

RIBA Awards

Stirling Prize

RIBA Royal Gold Medal

Key Architects Links

Zaha Hadid

Frank Gehry

Herzog de Meuron

Key Architectural Links

American Architecture

Contemporary Architecture

Modern Houses

Buildings of the Year Archive

Architecture of 2013: Buildings of the Year

Building Designs of 2013

Architecture of 2012: Buildings of the Year

Architecture of 2011

Comments / photos for the Architecture of 2020 page welcome

Website: Building

The post Architecture of 2020: Buildings of the Year appeared first on e-architect.

[fatehbaz]

Rhinos in China: Though rhinos are currently extinct in China, here are some new-ish maps and research on the surprisingly widespread distribution of rhinoceros species living in China during recent historic times, prior to large-scale human geoengineering and environmental change

*Spins wheel* Uhhh today’s hyperfixation is: distribution maps, just like every day. But this time, it’s maps related to East Asian environmental history and the anthropogenic extinction of rhinos. Or whatever. Have this stupidly long and completely unsolicited post, I guess.

Today, rhinos are extinct in China. The presence of rhinos in China during historical times - and the scale of their distribution range - has been a bit ambiguous, at least to Western/European audiences, though Chinese art and scholarship has long incorporated rhinos. Though modern, living rhinos seem to be associated with tropical and subtropical biomes in the popular consciousness, the Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) apparently didn’t mind the seasonal snow and cold of temperate climates. About only 3,000 years ago, the Sumatran rhino was apparently still present throughout most of China, as far north as modern Beijing; even as recently as 100 AD, this rhino was probably still present as far north as Shanghai.

The phrase “retreat of the elephants” has sometimes been used to describe the process of human-caused environmental change and landscape alteration that dramatically remade the Chinese landscape over the past 3,000 years especially. (”Retreat of the elephants” is a term borrowed from environmental historian Mark Elvin.) It is relatively well-known that Asian elephants (Elephas maximus), which at the beginning of major Chinese state-building and irrigation projects about 3,000 years ago still lived as far north as Beijing, were gradually driven further and further south, away from the Yellow and Yangtze rivers. Recent research, though, shows that Sumatran rhinos also suffered a similar fate. A “retreat of the rhinos” if you will.

The two rhinoceros figurines pictured above are pieces from ancient China. The first image is in the public domain and depicts a rhino-shaped ritual wine vessel made of bronze, from about 1100 to 1050 BC, during the Shang era. The piece is housed at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, The second image is another bronze wine vessel from a site in Shaanxi Province, this time inlaid with gold and hailing from later in history during the Western Han period, about 205 BC to 10 AD. [Photo by Wikimedia user Babel/Stone.] The rhinos in both of these pieces are depicted with two horns, meaning that they likely depict the Sumatran rhinoceros; this is corroborated by the existence of fossil remains of Sumatran rhinos from across China prior to 1000 AD. [The header photo above depicts a living Sumatran rhino on the island of Sumatra. Photo by Bil Konstant and International Rhino Foundation.]

Here behold a Sumatran rhino - and a calf! [At Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary on the far southeastern edge of the island. Photo by S. Ellis, via PBS.]

A Sumatran rhino. [Photo by Mark Carwardine and WWF.]

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Here are some maps and other recent research resources about 3 of the rhinos living in China in recent history.

At the end of the last Ice Age of the Pleistocene about 11,500 years ago and during the advent of so-called agricultural civilization, China was apparently still home to at least 3 species of rhino: the woolly rhinoceros (went extinct around this time); Javan rhinoceros; and, by far the most widespread species, the Sumatran rhinoceros. (To be fair, it is proposed that a 4th species - the famous Indian rhinoceros, Rhinoceros unicornis, now the most relatively stable of the Asian rhino species - was potentially historically present in small pockets of China’s Yunnan Province up until the 20th Century.)

(Rhinos don’t observe arbitrary human-made national borders. I don’t like observing national borders especially when discussing biogeography and ecoregions, so here I’m referring to “China” as the geographic space which was in the cultural sphere of influence of a Chinese dynasty/state between the Shang era and the early 20th Century; centered on the Yellow and Yangtze rivers; and basically including landscapes north of Vietnam, east of Tibet/Taklamakan, and south of the Gobi Desert.)

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Woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis)

This is a reconstruction of a woolly rhinoceros, housed at the Natural History Museum in London. Photo by Emoke Denes.

Here’s a distribution map of known sites where woolly rhinos still lived in the Late Pleistocene (up to about 11,500 years ago), at the time that humans were planting and domesticating food crops.

This map comes from a neat report on Late Pleistocene megafauana and ecology in China: “Three abrupt climatic events since the Late Pleistocene in the North China Plain” from Lin Jingxing et al., 2013.

Woolly rhinos may have died out around this same time at the end of the Pleistocene (11,500 YBP), a little too early to have been depicted widely in Chinese art. (Some radiocarbon dates of woolly rhino remains in nearby Siberia, however, suggest the rhino could have persisted into the Holocene until the climatic reversal of the Younger Dryas period, about 10,000 YBP or 8,000 BC.)

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Javan rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus)

[Thank you, Wikipedia.]

There are less than 100 Javan rhinos that still exist, living only in Ujung Kulon National Park on the far western tip of Java. Here’s the distribution range of the Javan rhinoceros in recent history before its terrible decline [map by Wikimedia user JayHenry]:

During the past 150 years, the Javan rhino still lived all across Southeast Asia, from India and Bangladesh through Vietnam and into Indonesia. Historically, the Javan rhino likely used to live along the southern China coast west of Guangzhou and Hong Kong. Since the species seems to prefer humid tropical environments, it’s unlikely that the Javan rhino lived any farther north into China during historic times.

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Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis)

[Thanks again, Wikipedia.]

Here we are. Unlike other rhino species which either went extinct during the Pleistocene or only occupied the humid, tropical southern fringes of China, the Sumatran rhino lived throughout most of China. This is the species likely depicted in historic Chinese art and from which rhino-hide armor was made. Occasional poems from early China also seemingly make reference to the presence of rhinos.

Here’s the current distribution of the Sumatran rhinoceros, contrasted with the early 20th Century distribution [map by Wikimedia user Jay/Henry, adapted from Foose 1997 and Dinerstein 2003]:

Note that the Sumatran rhino currently lives nowhere near China. Until 1916, the Sumatran rhino had lived in Yunnan Province in far southern China along the Myanmar and Indian borders with China. This map is misleading, however, since the Sumatran rhino was present across the majority of China during “historic” times. Recent Chinese scholarship confirms that the Sumatran rhinoceros was much more widespread across China before 1000 AD.

During the past 3000 years, the Sumatran rhino evidently lived as far north as Beijing, in northern China. Here’s a map of recovered Sumatran rhino fossils throughout China, including an approximation of their distribution range over time.

The real historic distribution of Sumatran rhinos in China:

I edited the map a little:

During the Shang era (1400-1200 BC), Sumatran rhinos were still present near Beijing and the Yellow River. By the famous Han Dynasty and the so-called unification of a Chinese “empire” around 50 AD, Sumatran rhinos had been pushed south to about the Yangtze River and Shanghai. By about 1000 AD, the species had been pushed farther south, near Guangzhou and Hong Kong.

This map uses fossil presence of Sumatran rhinos to approximate the historic extent of their distribution in China. The map comes from a great summary of the historic distribution of rhinos in China: “Distribution and extinction of the rhinoceros in China: review of recent Chinese publications” from Kees Rookmaaker, published in Pachyderm, 2006.

[A Sumatran rhino. Photo by Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary via WWF.]

Check out this link to read more about the history of rhinos in China.

Thank you for participating in this hyperfixation.

[ladyimaginarium]

BELLATRIX

𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐬

FULL NAME.     bellatrix barcelona belladonna NICKNAME.     Beretta ( codename ). Blake. Bella. Belle. Bells. Ella. Trix. Trixie. ‘Retta. Izanami ( alias in Japan ), Bénedicté ( alias in France ), Bertilda ( alias in Germany ), Béibhinn ( alias in Ireland ), Basilia ( alias in Spain ), Belakane ( alias in Africa ), Besiana ( alias in Albania ), Basira ( alias in the Middle East ), Berenike ( alias in Greece ), Bharat ( alias in India ) Bad Bitch, Queen B (self styled). The Black Widow. ( codename. ). GENDER.     Cisgender Female. HEIGHT.     5′8. AGE.     13 ( GANGSTA: CURSED. ) ; 28 ( GANGSTA. ). ZODIAC.     scorpio. SPOKEN LANGUAGES.     Fluent in English, French, Spanish, Russian, Italian, Latin, Romanian, Norwegian, German, Greek, American Sign Language, Arabic, Persian, Swahili, Hindi, Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, and Korean and various other languages — the majority of these are used for diplomatic and espionage missions.

𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬

HAIR COLOR.     Black as a raven’s feather, often kept short in a bobcut but has grown out her hair just past her shoulders while younger. EYE COLOR.     Grey-icy blue eyes. SKIN TONE.     Ivory ; pale as white as snow. BODY TYPE.     Slender, fit, voluptuous, hourglass type. (and far more physically strong than how she appears to be). VOICE.     a silky, sickeningly sweet and sultry voice. DOMINANT HAND.     ambidextrous. POSTURE.     perfectly straight. SCARS.     n/a, all the scars she had faded over time. TATTOOS.      a sword intertwined with a black rose on her mid to lower back ; a tribal tattoo on her belly. BIRTHMARKS.     n/a MOST NOTICEABLE FEATURE(S).     eyes, lips, bodily frame, large breasts.

𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝

PLACE OF BIRTH.     a gulag turned research facility in yakutsk, siberia, russia. HOMETOWN.    beretta has had several homes throughout her childhood, all in top secret international research facilities. siberia, russia, new york, the united states of america, barcelona, spain, paris, france, rome, italy, egypt, africa, rio de janeiro, south america, toronto, canada, cancun, mexico, sydney, australia, shiraz, iran, honolulu, polynesia, dubai, united arab emirates, shanghai, china, tokyo, japan, seoul, south korea and even antarctica, among many other places around the world. SIBLINGS.    marie/maverick ( older sister figure ), masaru/minimi ( older brother figure ), spas/marco adriano ( brother figure and rumored half brother ; now disowned ). PARENTS.   unknown to her although she’s seen footage of her mother - a mixed asian woman of multiple eastern asian and southeastern asian ethnicities ) - on a computer that she hacked, but has no knowledge of her father ( a white man of multiple european ethnicities ) whatsoever.

𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞

OCCUPATION.    supersoldier. assassin. spy. hunter. ( CANON. ). CURRENT RESIDENCE.    ergastulum, italy, however, since she is a spy and assassin, she can easily be anywhere else in the world. CLOSE FRIENDS.    canonically? striker, sig, colt, minimi, maverick, and at one point, spas. other than that, it’s pretty much anyone she can vibe with and she doesn’t have many genuine friends. RELATIONSHIP STATUS.    single but she has her eyes on striker. FINANCIAL STATUS.    immensely wealthy. DRIVER’S LICENSE.    yes, in her several fake id’s, not that she uses a car much. CRIMINAL RECORD.    oh, yeah ... not like she was caught. defacement of public property, physical assault with intent to harm, murder, disturbing the peace, trespassing, petty theft, harassment, brawling, murder, torture, treason. VICES.    a smoker, murder, torture, flirtation, seeking world domination.

𝐬𝐞𝐱 & 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞

SEXUAL ORIENTATION.   biromantic bisexual PREFERRED EMOTIONAL ROLE.    submissive  |  dominant | switch PREFERRED SEXUAL ROLE.    submissive  |  dominant  |  switch LIBIDO.    very .... very high LOVE LANGUAGE.    sharing food, giving gifts, emotional vulnerability, honesty, patience, loyalty, small intimate touches, sharing a living and sleeping space, difficult but important conversations, intense and tender kisses, hardcore rough sex  RELATIONSHIP TENDENCIES.    she tends to be very attached and borderline clingy with them, but she doesn’t know how to love without restraint, so she tries her best to make the other person happy with all she has. when she’s in love with someone she loves them with all her entire being and is one of the most loyal partners one could ask for.

𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐨𝐮𝐬

CHARACTER’S THEME SONG.    there’s a whole playlist HOBBIES TO PASS TIME.    tending to the younger chimeras and stray animals, training, Goth culture, being with her friends, drawing, painting, coloring, baking, calligraphy, fashion, listening to music, playing musical instruments, particularly the violin, fawning over animals, sailing, eating sweets and desserts, observing flowers/nature, singing, dancing, writing, cake decorating, gardening, hiking, swimming, slaying her enemies, astrology, traveling, reading, collecting precious stones and flowers to decorate her room, the occult. LEFT OR RIGHT BRAINED.    she doesn’t know nor care. FEARS.    loss, failure, inadequacy, never being good enough, complete isolation, abandonment, intense physical intimacy. SELF CONFIDENCE LEVEL.    she’s very confident and vain about her visage, physique, wardrobe and in her prowess as an assassin and spy but ... herself as a person? ... not so much. VULNERABILITIES.    like literally all of her fears.  she fears them for a reason. she also thinks she’s not very lovable and no one will ever truly love her for ... well, her. as well, considering she was bred, born, raised and trained to be a spy, assassin and supersoldier since a very young age by a shadowy government organization, she wants desperately to be free from her chains.

tagged by:   stole it from @grcndel​ trolololol i hope you don’t mind !! tagging:    just do it for ur character bro

[mystlnewsonline]

BEIJING | Tesla breaks ground on factory in Shanghai

BEIJING | Tesla breaks ground on factory in Shanghai

BEIJING— Jan 07, 2019—Tesla Inc. broke ground Monday for a factory in Shanghai, its first outside the United States.

CEO Elon Musk said Monday on Twitter that the company will start production in China of its Model 3 and a planned crossover by the end of the year.

Tesla announced plans in July to build the Gigafactory 3 facility in China, the biggest electric vehicle market, despite trade tension…