

Concentrate now: if you really put your mind to it, really cleared your life of the flotsam and jetsam that litter our contemporary existence, what do you think you could achieve in 15 days?
Finish that book you’ve been reading for weeks? Get in a couple of gym sessions? Match up all your socks? Small fry, folks. However impressive your levels of concentration and application, we’re fairly confident that you wouldn’t be able to erect a 30-storey hotel in 15 days.
Well, they can in China. Granted it was the work of more than one person (take a bow, Chinese construction company, Broad Group), but could you imagine such a thing happening in the UK? This momentous feat of engineering occurred in the city of Changsa, where builders got up the 183,000 square foot building in double quick time.
Even more remarkable is the fact that this is no flimsy balsa wood construction, liable to topple over at the first gust of wind. The structure is built to withstand a force 9 earthquake, is completely soundproofed, thermal insulated and has air quality monitoring in every room.
And if you’re thinking the builders were working around the clock, think again. They downed their tools at 10pm every night. We’re seriously impressed.
(Image: YouTube)
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As Content Director of Shortlist, Marc likes nothing more than to compile endless lists of an evening by candlelight. He started out life as a movie writer for numerous (now defunct) magazines and soon found himself online - editing a gaggle of gadget sites, including TechRadar, Digital Camera World and Tom's Guide UK. At Shortlist you'll find him mostly writing about movies and tech, so no change there then.