Imagine an entire city inside a single building which not only has has homes for its residents but also houses all amenities and facilities they would ever need, as a result of which the citizens of this “building-city” hardly need to step outside, if ever. The building we are talking about is the Regent International in Qianjiang Century City in Hangzhou, China.
The Regent International, which was originally built as a luxury hotel, is now the world’s biggest residential building, home to more than 20,000 people. The 675-foot S-shaped building is a small city in itself, containing high-end residential apartments spread across 39 floors.
Besides the apartments, the gigantic building, which is often termed as a “self-contained community”, houses almost all amenities and facilities required by its residents many of whom work in the various businesses housed inside this compact city and barely ever step outside.
The building houses a ginormous food court, a grocery stores, barber shops, nail salons, gyms, cafes, swimming pools, and cafes, providing residents almost everything they require without the need to go outside.
Notably, even with 20,000 residents living inside, the building still has plenty of space as it is designed to accommodate over 30,000 people, so technically there’s still room left for around 10,000 people, although that would make the place overcrowded.
A video of the building has has gone viral on social media, eliciting varied responses from users with some calling it a “prison”, while others applauded the ingenuity which made its possible to bring over 20,000 people under one roof.
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE:
More than 20,000 people are living in this world’s biggest residential building in China. pic.twitter.com/O3nBToayx4
— Indian Tech & Infra (@IndianTechGuide) October 6, 2024
“Is that a vertical slum,” asked one user. “That’s a whole city in one building,” wrote another.
“That’s incredible It’s amazing to see how modern architecture can bring so many people together under one roof, creating a unique sense of community,” a third commented.
Some users also pointed out the risks of housing so many people together, citing dangers of natural disasters like earthquakes which could leave behind a trail of destruction and a large death toll if it strikes the building.
“If it falls due to an earthquake, More than 20,000 people will die. It is too risky,” a user noted.
Many others found the situation funny while also drawing similarities between India and China, two of the most populous countries in the world.
“World’s biggest residential building in China… Itna me Delhi me 1 lakh log rah lenge (1 lakh people will residence that amount of space in Delhi),” read a comment.
“In India for that building then there will be a MLA,” another joked.
“This looks like Jail for some reason,” a third commented.