The Shenzhen Civic Centre is an iconic building and unquestionably the most spectacular of Shenzhen’s many architectural masterpieces and should be the starting point of any Shenzhen tour.
The building always reminds us a bit of the Sydney Opera House. Soaring spectacular wings tops a squat ordinary podium. The building is on a massive scale. It is built on a 91,000 sq. m base and the top of its winged roof is 82 m high. Total floor area is 210,000 sq. m.
The podium consists of six glass-clad storeys divided into three sections, which house the City Government Administration, the Municipal People’s Congress, banquet and display halls and the Museum. Two massive silos, one primary red and one primary yellow rise from the podium, attached to them is a 486 m long blue roof in the shape of a wing.
The wing is supposed to represent the roc, the giant mythical bird that symbolizes Shenzhen. Shenzhen is poetically known as Peng or Roc city. This is after Da Peng Fort in Eastern Shenzhen.
However, to us the building appears to pay homage to the architectural style of the Tang Dynasty 6th to 10th centuries with its rounded shape. This style is rarely seen in China, most Tang dynasty buildings having been destroyed by fire or war, but it can be seen in Japanese architecture, especially in Kyoto.
The building was commenced in 1998 and completed in 2004.
In front of the building is a large square that is basically Shenzhen’s Tiananmen Square.
As always there is a superlative connected with this building but possibly not the one you
expected. Shenzhen Civic Centre has China’s largest underground car park. So, you can get totally lost when you park your car for the theatre.
Address: Shenzhen Civic Centre, Futian Metro is Shi Min Zhong Xin on lines 2 and 4.
Buses Nos. 105, 234, 236, 41, 371, 107, 10 to the north of the building and Nos. 38, 235 and 15 to the west.
SHENZHEN CIVIC CENTRE Photo Gallery
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