Architecture and civil engineering have long been central elements in China's external image and national party propaganda. When it comes to technological superiority in Asia, industrialization, aerospace technology, and architecture can even be mentioned in the same breath. The Communist government has understood how to present itself internationally with the help of global media events such as 2008 Summer Olympics or Expo 2010 in Shanghai. One almost has the impression that the People's Republic of China has become an open-air museum of architectural superlatives. But if the glance at this Far Eastern country were not a European one, it would be uncritical and unconsidered? As was already the case during the industrialisation of Europe and North America, Chinese urban agglomerations face the barely surmountable challenges of adapting both their urban infrastructures and the supply of living space to cope with increasing migration to the cities. Beijing's powerful regime is still trying to regulate internal migration but has now reached the limits of how much it can control its citizens, faced with just under 200 million migrant workers who represent China's guarantee of economic development. As internationally successful as architects may be, in their native countries their activities in Communist China are not always seen in a positive light. Not infrequently they are accused of designing projects for China which would be almost impossible to realize in their own countries because of building and environmental regulations. Set against that backdrop, this book presents a small selection of over 30 successful projects by Chinese and foreign architects who have been willing to take up the challenge of making a contribution to international debate.
