Tall & Urban News

Chongqing Technology Park Towers Evoke Tolkien Trilogy with Ringed Skybridges

The observation deck weighs 2,060 metric tons, and is suspended 99.8 meters above the ground, supported by the three towers.
The observation deck weighs 2,060 metric tons, and is suspended 99.8 meters above the ground, supported by the three towers.
08 November 2019 | Chongqing, China

The fantasy trilogy Lord of the Rings, and the cinema blockbusters based on it, have proved to be hugely popular in China—so much so that trio of skyscrapers is being built with a clear nod to J.R.R. Tolkien’s masterpiece.

The complex, part of a US$2-billion property project called Xiantao Big Data Valley, is made up of three 107-meter-tall high-rises and a massive ring-shaped corridor near the top—just like the Eye of Sauron atop the Dark Tower.

“The architectural venture has been billed as ‘The Lord of the Rings’ towers by engineers in the Middle Kingdom.”

Situated in Chongqing in southwestern China, the architectural venture has been billed as “The Lord of the Rings” towers by engineers in the Middle Kingdom, in celebration of the fictional world of Middle Earth created in Tolkien’s trilogy. The title, “Lord of the Rings,” translates as the “Magic Ring Trilogy” in Chinese, and the crown jewel of the compound is its own “magic ring”— a gravity-defying circular glass-bottomed corridor.

The observation deck weighs 2,060 metric tons and is suspended 99.8 meters above the ground, supported by the three towers.

China MCC5 Group, a state-run company that is in charge of the construction, has shared footage to show how workers lifted the enormous structure to the top of the complex.

Technicians used 15,300 meters of pre-stressed concrete steel strand and 12 hydraulic jacks to transport the massive ring-shaped platform to the top of the towers, according to lead engineer Jiang Yourong.

The skyscraper complex will be used as offices upon completion.

Chongqing’s Xiantao Big Data Valley, a technology park covers two square kilometers, or roughly two-thirds the size of Central Park in New York. The technology park, with an overall budget of 14.4 billion yuan (US$2.06 billion), is set to be home to more than 350 companies, and will also include flats and hotels.

For more on this story go to The Daily Mail.