On Monday, China’s Greenland Group announced that work is also resuming on the previously stalled Chengdu Greenland Tower in the southwestern city of Chengdu, local state-owned media reported. Construction of the 468-meter-tall (1,535-foot) skyscraper has been on hold since 2023, after the state-owned developer encountered financial difficulties, according to Reuters.
The fact that two high-profile projects are resuming at the same time is unlikely to be a coincidence, said Qiao Shitong, a law professor at Duke University School of Law and the author of two books on Chinese real estate.
“The national government has made it clear it wants to stabilize the real estate market,” said Qiao over a video call, adding that it has been encouraging local governments to help “revive” the struggling sector. “It is signaling to the market — (it’s) not only about the skyscrapers themselves.”
Although the Tianjin tower’s new financing is yet to be disclosed, Qiao believes the state has offered investment and debt restructuring to help kickstart the project.
“(Supertall skyscrapers) are not necessarily the most efficient projects and they are not necessarily making profits, but they are indicators,” he said. “By having this project revived and completed, the government at least hopes it can increase people’s confidence.”
For local officials, completing abandoned skyscrapers is also about “the image of the city,” said Fei Chen, a reader in architecture and urban design at the UK’s University of Liverpool. “They don’t want a project to be unfinished and to stay like that, which is an eyesore for everyone.”
Chen stressed, however, that the resumption of projects in Tianjin and Chengdu is unlikely to herald a return to the “vanity projects” of recent years.
“The government is conscious that although these (skyscraper) projects have some positive effects on the area, they require too much investment and are not financially or environmentally sustainable… I think the general urban development trend is not changed by the fact that some projects are being resumed. I think it’s more about local government efforts to make their city better.”
Despite economic concerns and tightening regulations, China continues to dominate global skyscraper construction. Of the 133 skyscrapers measuring 200 meters or above completed around the world last year, 91 were in China, according to data from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.