Uploaded on 2016-12-21 by Jannes Klaas

This is one of the many new towers being built in Shenzhen China. The inner city towers are built in a very western / downtown NY style. While the buildings on the outskirts are often cheap "concrete bunkers", the inner city towers show a pretty high build quality. The steel and the cement is produced in china. What is more interesting in my eyes are the stones used for the floor inside many buildings (Sadly I could not sneak in and take a picture of the floor being used). China is the #1 exporter of artificial marble and floor stones, and they are widely used in many chinese buildings. But China is also the #1 importer of italian floor stones and marble. Those who can afford it prefer the natural stone. Meanwhile in Europe, artificial marble from China starts to find application even in upmarket buildings since it can be configured to perfectly meet fire regulations, looks very real, has a longer life span and is much cheaper than natural products.