There’s a lot of “weird” to admire in China. Culinarily, it’s the corndog’s ugly cousin scorpion on a stick. Medically, to the Chinese, urine cures hyperthyroidism. But, according to the Chinese government, the country’s architecture is a bit too weird.
In a statement by the Chinese government, China plans to forbid the construction of “bizarre
architecture that is not economical, functional, aesthetically pleasing or environmentally
friendly,” hoping to, instead, fill cities with “economic, green and beautiful” buildings.
The upcoming regulations aims to curb the trend of “bizarre architecture” by encouraging the use of prefabricated buildings, which the government hopes will, not only drastically reshape city skylines, but also limit urban sprawl and improve the overall urban layout as more and more people flock to the cities.
The move shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise considering China’s president, Xi Jinping, has been calling to replace “odd” structures with “morally-inspiring architecture” since October 2014. That means no more designs like the snail-like Henan Art Center or the hilariously phallic People’s Daily building. Worse still, the move could ruin the annual ugliest building rankings.
Tom is a travel writer, part-time hitchhiker, and he’s currently trying to imitate Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? but with more sunscreen and jorts.