The way of living for around 20,000 people in China is one in which they have everything they need in the confines of their apartment block without having to actually leave. They thus stay between the same four walls 24/7.
“These thousands of people live in a complex known as the Regent International, a colossal building in Qianjiang Century City, located in Hangzhou’s central business district.” This building stands at 675ft tall, offering 260,000 square metres of space, which makes it one of the largest buildings in China.
In this building, residents have every necessity they could ever need and only if they want to catch some fresh air, they can venture outdoors. Inside the building, one finds a massive food court, barber shops, nail salons, medium-sized supermarkets, swimming pools, and even internet cafes. It was designed by Alicia Loo, with the intention to be a six-star hotel.
But it was turned into a building with thousands of apartments and hosting residents like students, graduates and young professionals. Small apartments without windows are around €200 monthly whereas those with balconies are on the market for around €600.
How boring it is to live in such an overcrowded, urban place which confines you to its space because it provides all commodities!in
Now you might argue that this is not the case in European countries or other countries outside China. Well, let’s have a look at the local situation. Don’t we have concrete cages being built all year round, which cost between 280k to 500k each, so that you can live in and work for, for the rest of our lives? If you are renting, you are lucky if you get one of these cages for €750 monthly. And if we have a look inside the Portomaso Business Tower, one finds that the main floor is occupied by a shopping centre while the top floor of the building is a nightclub and a casino.
This is what governments mean when they talk of sustainable living. It is no doubt that this is no life and I wonder if people living here, get anxiety. Imagine if a fire would break out on the bottom floor.