adminHuaxi, Jiangsu province, eastern China, to surrounding cities in less than 10 minutes, say operators, the Tongyong Airline Company.
Huaxi — at the centre of a massive new technology and tourism hub — is said to have more millionaire residents than any other village in the whole country.
Huaxi, with its 2 000 official registered inhabitants, has long been recognised as the richest village in China — each resident having at least US$250 000 in the bank.
It showed off its economic might last year with the opening of a huge skyscraper — dubbed the Hanging Village of Huaxi.
Reaching 328 metres into the sky in Huaxi, Jiangsu province, its closest rival is 600 miles away in Beijing and it is 18 metres taller than the Shard in Central London.
A solid gold ox costing an estimated £31m greets people on the 60th floor of the 328m tower.
The huge tower is topped with a huge glass ball.
Despite such a small population, the latest tower to be built there is 52 storeys higher than its closest rival in Huaxi and has capacity to fit the entire population of the village.
It ranks as the 15th-highest skyscraper in the world, standing taller than Paris’s Eiffel Tower (324m) and the Chrysler Building (319m) in New York.
It had taken four years for the work to be finished on the 74-storey hotel and residential block at a cost of 3billion yuan (£301m).
Some have compared the building as looking like a trophy because at the top there is a huge sphere made out of glass while others wonder if it is sustainable in such a place as Huaxi.
Money for the project partly came from people in the village — which celebrated its 50th anniversary the day the building was opened — who gave shares of 10 million Yuan each, the China News Service said.
Zhou Li, deputy party chief of the village, said: “The building is a symbol of collectivism.”
There are 800 suites in the structure and it can hold around 2 000 people.
There is an exhibition hall, a revolving restaurant, rooftop swimming pools and gardens.
On the 60th floor there’s not just an amazing view to be enjoyed but there is also an ox that has been crafted from a tonne of gold.
The 1 500-seater restaurant is complete with an elaborate stage and screen
A huge banquet was held to mark the opening.
The entrance foyer has an incredible chandelier while down one wall is a mural depicting the tower and its surroundings
The mural exaggerates the height of the pagodas next to it which are actually only 15 storeys high compared to the skyscraper’s 72 storeys.
Officials in the village are keen to capitalise on new-found wealth with helicopter rides being among the latest additions to the area to try and attract tourists
One of the main purposes of the skyscraper is to relieve pressure on the village which has limited land resources and is actually ballooning in size.
There were originally 2 000 inhabitants in Huaxi but then it grew and started to swallow some of the neighbouring areas and now there is a lot of migration to the area.
It is also hoped that, despite it being the richest village in China, it will help raise the living standards of people of Huaxi. — Daily Mail.
Online Reporter