China built a 30-storey hotel in 15 days

BEIJING: They're a 21st century super power with super computers and a super economy that's the envy of the world.   Now China can claim another title - the fastest builders on the planet after putting up a 30-storey 183,000-square-foot hotel in just 15 days, or 360 hours.

A construction crew in the south-central Chinese city of Changsha completed this remarkable achievement with no injuries to any worker. The Ark Hotel was built on Dongting lake, in the Hunan Province, by Broad Group, a Chinese construction company which specialises in sustainable architecture.   It was built to withstand a magnitude 9 earthquake, as tested by the China Academy of Building Research, who claim this is five times more quake-resistant than conventional buildings.   All the materials were prefabricated and sections built to specification off-site, so there was very little wastage.   The builders took just 46 hours to finish the main structural components and another 90 hours to finish the building enclosure. All of the structure is soundproofed and thermal-insulated. They even have air quality monitoring in every room given the pollution problem in China.   While the men didn't work all through the night, it was often 10pm before they packed away their lunchboxes. Their previous record was a smaller 15-story building constructed in just six days, but this one is much more impressive.