logo
The world's tallest unoccupied building to resume construction — after a decade-long shutdown

The world's tallest unoccupied building to resume construction — after a decade-long shutdown

New York Post01-05-2025
China's 'walking stick' skyscraper now has some new legs.
Construction on the Goldin Finance 117 tower in Tianjin is set to resume after 10 years, CNN Style reported.
Progress on the 1,959-foot-tall tower — making it the tallest unoccupied building in the world — stalled after the Chinese stock market crash of 2015. Now, a new construction permit means that this 'ghost tower' can progress towards a projected completion date of 2027.
6 The tower rises 1,959 feet above Tianjin.
NurPhoto via Getty Images
6 China 117 topped out in 2015 before progress ground to a 10-year halt.
NurPhoto via Getty Images
6 The completion of the tower may be a part of a broader push by China to stabilize its fraught real estate market.
CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images
Chinese state media announced last week that construction of the 117-story tower, aptly nicknamed 'China 117,' could resume, CNN Style reported.
Daring urban explorers have flocked to the imposing structure over the past decade, chronicling their death-defying climbs in viral videos, including Russian couple Angela Nikolau and Ivan Kuznetsov in 2016.
The skyscraper, which broke ground in 2008, was constructed with a system of 'mega columns' to brace it against strong winds and earthquakes. The impressively lean tower was designed to host three office zones and a five-star hotel on the upper floors, according to architects P&T Group. A diamond-shaped atrium containing a pool and an observation deck will top the building.
6 Four 'mega columns' run up the 117-story tower.
NurPhoto via Getty Images
6 The tower was designed to host three office zones and a five-star hotel on the upper floors, according to the architect.
NurPhoto via Getty Images
Goldin Properties Holdings, the Hong Kong-based real estate developer behind the site, has since gone into liquidation, CNN reported.
The edifice was originally destined to be the centerpiece of a larger, mixed-use development catering to the upper echelons of the northern port city. CNN Style reported that the wider development scheme for attractions like a convention center and a polo club remains uncertain, but the new permit reportedly nods to 'commercial corridors.'
6 The skyscraper stands much taller than its neighbors.
CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images
The resumption of construction on both the Goldin Finance 117 Tower and the Chengdu Greenland Tower — a 1,535-foot skyscraper that has been on hold since 2023 — coincides with frequent headlines about China's abandoned skylines and ghost cites.
'The national government has made it clear it wants to stabilize the real estate market,' said Qiao Shitong, a law professor at Duke University School of Law and expert on Chinese real estate, told CNN Style.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

I'm a matchmaker for the uber-wealthy who charges up to $500,000. Sometimes I conduct over 100 interviews for 1 date.
I'm a matchmaker for the uber-wealthy who charges up to $500,000. Sometimes I conduct over 100 interviews for 1 date.

Business Insider

time6 minutes ago

  • Business Insider

I'm a matchmaker for the uber-wealthy who charges up to $500,000. Sometimes I conduct over 100 interviews for 1 date.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Jennifer Donnelly, a Dallas-based matchmaker for wealthy individuals. It's been edited for length and clarity. I work with some of the world's most influential people to help them find that compatible partner. My sorority sister is married through me, and the person who lived across the street from me when I was eight years old is married through me. It's such a rewarding career. Out of college, I worked for a company that matched people for dating. It was a really high volume of people, like thousands, at a lower price point, and we were only matching people inside that service. But I wanted to be able to meet the client, get to know them, and search all over for the right fit. So I said, if I do this again, it should be for fewer clients at a higher price point to deliver exceptional results. I've been matchmaking specifically for wealthier clients for the past 10 years. Usually, around 30 to 40% of my month is spent traveling for work. I'm able to go search and hop on a plane to meet with a candidate and screen them. I can do things now that I never was able to do in the previous company. My network and reputation built my clientele. One of my first clients was a well-known billionaire, and then he started referring other people directly to me. My clients have incredibly high expectations, but I do too. My clients often say, "Jennifer, I think you might be even more selective than I am." For clients, my rates are for a 1-year period. They start at $150,000, which is generally for a search within a certain city. Then $250,000 is typically for a whole state, and at $500,000, we do a nationwide search. We gauge the rate based on the market and size. The candidates never pay. When I initially meet a prospective client, we go through at least two interviews, if not three. My clients are understandably very private, so I have to get them comfortable being vulnerable because I can only be as good as they allow me to be. I'll be a lot more effective the more information I have. Often, wealthy men are used to people telling them what they want to hear. I don't do that. This is about being effective and having a successful outcome. And oftentimes that requires a level of honesty that somebody hasn't presented to them before. Sometimes what people want and what they need is different. "Well, I want her to have an incredible career, to be a great mom, to be able to travel at a moment's notice because I've got a plane." And how can all of those things fit? Let's talk about what really matters in the relationship. When we start, I explain it might take up to six weeks. But if we're at six weeks, and I have not found the person, I'm not going to just put somebody in front of them. I'll just keep looking. We create strategy plans for each client. We create a profile of what we envision for that client, and then we'll say, "Okay, how are we going to find people like this?" and then we'll start working through our network. The good thing is we're incredibly well-connected. It would be highly unusual if there was a candidate we wanted that I couldn't get through somebody I know. It's important that they truly want a relationship. I always ask candidates, "Are you dating anybody? Does anybody think they're dating you? You could end up married; are you ready for that?" There's other matchmakers that can create dates. I'm really trying to create relationships. We'll conduct sometimes over 100 interviews before a client goes on one date. We want to make sure this isn't a waste of time for the client or the candidate; we would like to think we're matching for both people. As far as dates go, it can be as simple as dinner to something much more elaborate. The client can decide if they'd like to help plan it, or leave it to us or have their assistants plan it. I love attending the weddings of couples I've matched. That's the prize for me. It's like, OK, I did it, this is why I'm in this profession. But oftentimes the couple will tell me at their wedding, "Hey, please don't mention you're a matchmaker. Just say you're a 'consultant.'"

Nibe signs Technical Collaboration Agreement with Israel's Elbit Systems for PULS rocket system
Nibe signs Technical Collaboration Agreement with Israel's Elbit Systems for PULS rocket system

Business Upturn

time25 minutes ago

  • Business Upturn

Nibe signs Technical Collaboration Agreement with Israel's Elbit Systems for PULS rocket system

Nibe Limited has officially entered into a technical collaboration agreement with Israel-based defence technology firm Elbit Systems Land Limited. Signed on July 26, 2025, the agreement focuses on the transfer of license and technology for the Precise & Universal Launch System (PULS), a high-range artillery rocket system. Under this agreement, Elbit will provide Nibe with the necessary know-how and licensing rights to manufacture and assemble the PULS system in India. The system is designed for long-range precision targeting, capable of engaging threats at distances up to 300 kilometers. The collaboration aims to establish a local manufacturing setup for PULS in India, allowing Nibe to take on responsibilities for development, assembly, and integration. The financial terms of the agreement are expected to be finalized within 45 days from the signing date. This is a purely international partnership between two independent entities, with no related party transaction involved. Neither Nibe's promoter group nor its affiliates have any stake or interest in Elbit Systems Land Limited. The agreement aligns with the regulatory requirements under SEBI's disclosure norms. With this development, Nibe Limited expands its presence in the defence manufacturing sector by bringing advanced rocket system capabilities to the domestic market through technology collaboration with a global player. Ahmedabad Plane Crash Aman Shukla is a post-graduate in mass communication . A media enthusiast who has a strong hold on communication ,content writing and copy writing. Aman is currently working as journalist at

Real estate tycoon Jeff Greene talks about the 'tough balancing act' of raising kids as a billionaire
Real estate tycoon Jeff Greene talks about the 'tough balancing act' of raising kids as a billionaire

Business Insider

time36 minutes ago

  • Business Insider

Real estate tycoon Jeff Greene talks about the 'tough balancing act' of raising kids as a billionaire

Warren Buffett advises wealthy parents to "leave their children enough so they can do anything but not enough that they can do nothing." "That's a very tough balancing act," Jeff Greene, a billionaire real estate developer with three adolescent sons, told Business Insider. In a wide-ranging interview, he spoke about his parenting philosophy, path to success, and work-life balance. Greene, 70, said that people who've "accumulated enormous wealth" don't want their children to struggle, but that doesn't mean they're entitled to a jet-set lifestyle. "If my kid wants to have a private jet, or a yacht, or a big mansion, and live the way I live, they're going to have to figure it out on their own," he said. The Florida-based property tycoon, whose net worth is $7.9 billion according to Forbes, said the children of uber-rich parents have big advantages, like elite education and coaching. But it can also mean their achievements have asterisks, with questions of whether they got into a school or landed a job because of their wealth and connections, he said. "I started with nothing, I did it all on my own," Greene said, adding that he takes great pride in being self-made. "I've taken that away from them," he said of his children. Greene hopes that his kids have "meaningful lives." The investor, who made a fortune shorting the mid-2000s housing bubble with the help of hedge fund legend John Paulson, told BI he wants to teach his children that making money is a fraction as rewarding as helping others. "You can only eat so much food, you can only sleep in one bed a night, you can only drive so many cars," he said. "There's no limit as to how big a difference you can make in people's lives." Greene said he's eager for his sons to experience the "pleasure" and "thrill" that he and their mother, Mei-Sze Greene, garner from "seeing other people's lives get better." In 2010, the pair signed The Giving Pledge, committing to donate most of their wealth to charitable causes. In 2016, they founded The Greene School in Palm Beach, a nonprofit private school with a need-blind admission policy that offers financial aid to students. Starting from scratch Greene grew up middle class in Massachusetts and moved to Florida as a teenager after his father lost his textile business. "I was kind of on my own for going to a very expensive college," he said. Greene attended Johns Hopkins by cobbling together money from student loans, scholarships, and part-time jobs, including busing and waiting tables at The Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach, teaching Hebrew at a religious school, and checking IDs outside a gym. While Greene was able to save up the few thousand dollars he needed that way, he added that "it's tough for kids today" who can't expect to pay their way when tuition can be upward of $100,000. Greene financed his Harvard Business School MBA by selling circus tickets, initially over the phone and then as a promoter who spent nearly three years on the road. "I saved $100,000 in two and a half years by working my ass off," he said about the startup capital for his real estate empire, which has grown to thousands of residential and commercial properties in Florida, Los Angeles, and New York. Work and play Asked what keeps him up at night, Greene said he "sleeps pretty well." "I wake every morning and try to think of three things that I'm grateful for," he said, rather than dwelling on the "aggravating challenges" that crop up during construction projects. Greene also invoked "Karate Kid" character Mr. Miyagi's lesson that balance is key. "I live a balanced life," Greene said, adding that he works 50 or 60 hours a week, plays tennis five days a week, goes on trips with friends, and takes his kids to school daily. If he'd been more aggressive, taken on more leverage, worked harder, and hired more people, Greene said, "My net worth could have been at least five times what it is." But that approach would have been "stressful" with "no purpose to it," he added. "If you have balance in your life, you'll probably sleep better," he said. Greene also dismissed the idea of calling it quits. "What would I retire to do?" he asked. He could "join a country club and just play golf and bridge and pickleball," he said, but added he preferred the challenge of "trying to win at the stuff I do."

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store