A 387-foot-tall building was demolished yesterday in just 15 seconds in the Chinese city of Xi'an after it had been loaded with 1.4 tonnes of dynamites and 12,000 detonators.
The 26-storey structure is the tallest building ever to be knocked down in China, reported the People's Daily Online. The explosion left debris as high as 66 feet, which the local authority said will take around 70 days to clean up.
The edifice had never been used since its completion 16 years ago. A new commercial complex has been planned on the same plot.The Jinhua or Golden Flower Building was located in the high-tech zone in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, and was originally erected by Jinhua Pharmaceutical Factory as offices.
Construction of the building started in 1996 and completed in 1999. Only the façade was built however, and the interiors of it were never furnished.
Since then, the building had been left empty and untouched by its owner, though the reasons remained unknown.
According to local reports, the pharmaceutical factory had moved out of the area four years ago after selling the property to an unidentified buyer in 2009.
The demolition of the unused building has drawn much criticism from the Chinese media and public. Many consider it a waste of money and resources.The demolition of the high-rise took place at 7pm on November 15 – after it was delayed for 12 hours due to technical reasons.
The structure, loaded with 1.4 tonnes of explosives, took 10 seconds to dismantle and five seconds to fall to the ground.
Traffic on the nearby roads was halted from 5am until the completion of the demolition to ensure safety of the residents.
Liu Penghu, chairman of Pengcheng Explosion Company, told Huashang Newspaperthat a 13-foot-deep ditch had been dug around the structure to reduce the impact of the blast to the surroundings.Mr Liu said: 'The explosion met our expectation well. I stood in a high-rise about 164 feet away from the building and didn't feel any shakes.'
Wang Xiaolin, secretary-in-general of the Association of Engineering Exploding in Shaanxi Province, said the impact of the demolition was within the Chinese national standards.
State-owned news agency Xinhua reported the debris from the 32,500-tonne building covered the size of nearly three football pitches and piled approximately 66 feet high.
A huge commercial complex is set to be built on the same plot.
The project, named the World Xi'an Centre, is due to occupy more than 323,000 square feet. It is designed to contain shops, offices and residential spaces.
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