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People travel far and wide to view one of nature’s most spectacular sights, the waterfall. Somebody at Chinese construction company Guizhou Ludiya Property Management recognized this and thought, “Hey, why don’t we build a waterfall on the side of our skyscraper?” And so they created the world’s tallest man-made waterfall, and people can’t quite decide if it’s a good idea or not.
There’s no denying that it does indeed look spectacular, creating a glorious rainbow in front of the building when the sun is out. But the artificial waterfall, located in the city of Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou province in Southwest China, requires 4 large pumps to lift the recycled water 350ft up before it cascades down the side of the huge building. It faced huge engineering challenges during constuction and because of electricity costs, believed to be over $100 an hour, the waterfall is only in use for special occasions.
Bored Panda spoke to one resident of Guiyang, Tengyu Zhang, to get his take on the unusual new attraction in his city. “Personally I think it’s nice,” he told us. “I think it’s more for showing the tourism of Guizhou province. Since Huangguoshu waterfall is the most famous waterfall in China and it’s located in Guizhou, this one can be like a small ad for that.”
Many people have reacted negatively to what they perceive as an extremely wasteful vanity project, but Tengyu doesn’t agree. “Well, it’s not always on. Only if there are some international and important events and then it will be open. Moreover, there are fountains in the park, and light decorations in the modern city. If you really consider the aspect of environment, I guess all those should be closed as well.”
Guiyang is experiencing rapid growth as people flock from the other parts of the province to take advantage of the building boom. “Five years ago it was still one of the poorest provinces in China,” Tengyu told us. “But now the government wants to build a big data center in Guiyang. So the economy is developing rapidly. For example the bases for Apple, Google, and Amazon will be located in Guiyang.”
Seems like there’ll be plenty more creative and crazy skyscrapers to come in Guiyang! Scroll down to check out the waterfall building for yourself, and let us know what you think in the comments!
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A construction company in Guiyang, China decided to try something a little different
Image credits: IC
They built the world’s largest man-made waterfall onto the side of their skyscraper
Image credits: IC
But while there’s no denying that it does look spectacular
Image credits: IC
It requires 4 huge pumps to lift the recycled water 350ft up before it cascades down the side of the building
Image credits: IC
And because of electricity costs, believed to be over $100 an hour, the waterfall is only in use for special occasions
Image credits: IC
Many people have reacted negatively to what they perceive as an extremely wasteful vanity project
Image credits: IC
While others thought it was a great new tourist attraction for the city
Image credits: IC
“Personally I think it’s nice,” Guiyang resident Tengyu Zhang told Bored Panda
Image credits: IC
“Since Huangguoshu waterfall is the most famous waterfall in China and it’s located nearby, this one can be like a small ad for that”
Image credits: IC
Some commenters also loved the idea
While others found things to critique
What do you think?
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What do you think ?
IWishIWasBob 7 years ago
Well..it looks nice and it is recycled water so...? I don’t really know what to think about this.
Aunt Messy 7 years ago
It actually looks amazing. I've been in a couple of buildings that have waterfalls on the outside, and the offices that face the water are lovely. The light is gorgeous through the water.
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Alexandru Bucur 7 years ago
Which is why that was a great show and this is one ugly piece of architecture...
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Pam Falcioni 7 years ago
In regards to energy waste, unless the building is uninhabited they would need to pump water up to the top floors anyway. In regards to water waste, it's recycled water and evaporated water is not "lost", the earth is a closed system - all the fresh water we have here will always be here. Evaporated water will eventually fall to earth again as precipitation.
Ccatherine Liu 7 years ago
I think it might not be too bad of an idea, bc they use recycled water and it is only used for special occasions-because of its expense per hour.
Sunflowercray 7 years ago
The stills look gorgeous. But the video made me rethink. It's not as pretty... but more importantly, THE NOISE!!! Is the building soundproof? Or does everybody just wear noise-canceling headphones all the time?
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Yvonne Bernal 7 years ago
People all over the world in need of water... gotta wonder how they can live with themselves watching precious water evaporate into the air. And then there's the energy used to pump it. Oh.... don't get me started :(
Full Name 7 years ago
I agree with Hugo. Also, this is recycled water, not potable which means that no water is actually wasted in any capacity depending on the source. This is just knee-jerk outrage from hypocrites. Do you have way more clothing than you need? Lots of electricity and water and environmental damage goes into those. Do you care? No. Should you? If you care that much about this waterfall, then yet. I'm so sick of people who can afford fancy cell phones and computers talking s**t before admitting they have much more than they need to survive, which makes them no better than anybody else.
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Joel Emmett 7 years ago
Sounds awesome, but any waterfall, over ~8 feet tall, will be highly subject to the wind, and will mostly scatter about rather than landing in any containment pools. They turn into less of a water-fall and more of a water-spray-everywhere.
Sherrie Glendening 7 years ago
It's striking, and you get a free car wash each time it's activated.
IWishIWasBob 7 years ago
Well..it looks nice and it is recycled water so...? I don’t really know what to think about this.
Aunt Messy 7 years ago
It actually looks amazing. I've been in a couple of buildings that have waterfalls on the outside, and the offices that face the water are lovely. The light is gorgeous through the water.
Load More Replies... Alexandru Bucur 7 years ago
Which is why that was a great show and this is one ugly piece of architecture...
Load More Replies... Pam Falcioni 7 years ago
In regards to energy waste, unless the building is uninhabited they would need to pump water up to the top floors anyway. In regards to water waste, it's recycled water and evaporated water is not "lost", the earth is a closed system - all the fresh water we have here will always be here. Evaporated water will eventually fall to earth again as precipitation.
Ccatherine Liu 7 years ago
I think it might not be too bad of an idea, bc they use recycled water and it is only used for special occasions-because of its expense per hour.
Sunflowercray 7 years ago
The stills look gorgeous. But the video made me rethink. It's not as pretty... but more importantly, THE NOISE!!! Is the building soundproof? Or does everybody just wear noise-canceling headphones all the time?
Load More Replies... Yvonne Bernal 7 years ago
People all over the world in need of water... gotta wonder how they can live with themselves watching precious water evaporate into the air. And then there's the energy used to pump it. Oh.... don't get me started :(
Full Name 7 years ago
I agree with Hugo. Also, this is recycled water, not potable which means that no water is actually wasted in any capacity depending on the source. This is just knee-jerk outrage from hypocrites. Do you have way more clothing than you need? Lots of electricity and water and environmental damage goes into those. Do you care? No. Should you? If you care that much about this waterfall, then yet. I'm so sick of people who can afford fancy cell phones and computers talking s**t before admitting they have much more than they need to survive, which makes them no better than anybody else.
Load More Replies... Joel Emmett 7 years ago
Sounds awesome, but any waterfall, over ~8 feet tall, will be highly subject to the wind, and will mostly scatter about rather than landing in any containment pools. They turn into less of a water-fall and more of a water-spray-everywhere.
Sherrie Glendening 7 years ago
It's striking, and you get a free car wash each time it's activated.
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