We think your skyscraper is pants! Tower in Chinese city which looks just like a pair of TROUSERS nears completion
- 'Gate of the Orient' in Suzhou will stand 300m high when it is finished
- Skyscraper is intended to elevate the city to China's top ranks
- But web users have mocked the building because it looks like trousers
The Chinese boom town of Suzhou is about to be put on the map as its iconic new skyscraper is set to be completed after years of construction.
The 'Gate of the Orient' towers 300m above the city, and many hope it will give Suzhou a reputation as a leading global hub.
However, others are less enthusiastic about the project - because they point out that it bears a striking resemblance to a giant pair of trousers.
Iconic? The Gate of the Orient towers over the Chinese city of Suzhou, near Shanghai
Transformation: The skyscraper is set to make Suzhou one of China's leading cities
The building, designed by British architects RMJM, consists of two towers next to each other which join at the top.
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It is intended to resemble an arch, making a symbolic gateway into the centre of the city, which is near Shanghai in Jiangsu province.
According to RMJM, 'The project introduces a dramatic iconic "gateway" to the city of Suzhou and represents the significance of the China in the world today.'
Attraction: But Chinese web users have mocked the building for resembling a pair of skyscrapers
Anger: Some suggest that China has become a playground for Western architects with wacky ideas
But Chinese commentators have repeatedly mocked the skyscraper, laughing at it because they think it looks like a pair of trousers.
Last year newspaper Shanghai Daily asked in a headline, 'Is it an arch or just plain pants?'
And hundreds of users of micro-blog Weibo have been quick to ridicule the building, with one writing: 'This should be called the Pants of the East, not the Gate of the East.'
Artist's impression: When it is completed, the Gate of the Orient will certainly be striking
Others had more serious criticisms - one said the Gate of the Orient showed that China had become 'the playground of foreign designers with laughable architecture ideas'.
Ever since the construction of skyscrapers such as the Shanghai World Financial Centre and Beijing's 'Bird's Nest' stadium, dozens of smaller cities in China have attempted to match the metropolises.
However, many have become laughing stocks for their overly ambitious plans, while the country's economic slowdown could leave many supposedly iconic buildings standing empty for years.
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