China's weird architecture
In recent years China has shown a penchant for unusual, and what many may call daring, architecture in the shape of everything from "Giant Trousers" to a bird's nest to a piano and their very own replica Eiffel Tower. China's State Council and the Communist Party's Central Committee has recently taken a dim view of the imaginative structures announcing on Feb. 22, 2016 that "oversized, xenocentric, weird" buildings will no longer be permitted. Though it's unclear if the directive applies to both public and private buildings, it looks like we will be seeing less of these eye-catching structures.
Here's a look at the some of the "weird" fun architecture.
Here, Chinese workers walk past a 1:4 scale mini leaning tower of Pisa in Shanghai, September 7, 2004.
Piano House
Visitors gather in front of a piano-shaped building in Huainan.
The building was designed to be used as the Urban Planning Exhibition Hall.
The translucent violin encases the escalators and a staircase for the main building.
China's weird architecture - Piano House
The piano-shaped was designed by Hefei University of Technology reportedly in a 50:1 scale. It is lit up at night and has become a popular place for newlywed portraits.
China's weird architecture - Sphinx
The head of a full-scale replica of the Sphinx, part of a theme park that will also accommodate the production of movies, television shows and animation, houses a film studio, on the outskirts of Shijiazhuang, Hebei province.
China's weird architecture - Eiffel Tower
Two Chinese woman in matching outfits stand near a replica of the Effel Tower in Tianducheng, a luxury real estate development located in Hangzhou in eastern China's Zhejiang province.
The replica Eiffel Tower is in the heart of the city's plush Tianducheng development.
China's weird architecture
A crane is seen next to a giant statue of Chinese late chairman Mao Zedong under construction near crop fields in a village of Tongxu county, Henan province, China, January 4, 2016.
According to local villagers, several entrepreneurs spent nearly 3 million yuan (460,000 USD) to build the 36.6-meter (120 foot) statue covered in golden paint, local media reported. Unfortunately, the statue was demolished because it was built without permission from the appropriate authorities.
China's weird architecture
A car drives on a roundabout with a windmill in the middle in "Holland Village" in Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning province.
"Holland Village" imitates Duth architectural style, naturally. it occupies 2.2 square km (1.4 square miles) and cost 7 billion yuan (929 million USD) to build. The village consists of residential housing, gardens and tourist attractions.
China's weird architecture - teapot
An aerial view of a building shaped like a clay teapot in Wuxi, Jiangsu province.
Located in a suburban area, the building was designed as a cultural exhibition hall with the use of aluminum sheets and stained glass. The shape is based on yixing clay objects.
China's weird architecture
Proving that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery one can see a replica of the Paris Arch of Triumph in Kunming, Yunnan province.
China's weird architecture - Bird's Nest
The National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, seen here in Beijing was the 2008 Olympic Stadium.
It was a Chinese and western collaboration that included artist Ai Weiwiei and was based on a study of Chinese ceramics.
China's weird architecture
A ship travels past a building in the shape of concentric circles under construction on the banks of Zhujiang River in Guangzhou, Guangdong province.
Lead engineer Wang Zhanshan says he was inspired by a jade disc and the original color was meant to be provided by blue glass. Authorities changed the color to gold.
The 33-story building, which is 138-meter-high (453 feet), is named the Guangzhou Yuan Building and is also widely known as the "Copper Coin Building" because of its shape and color. Some have also referred to it as the caramel donut, according to the South China Morning Post newspaper.
China's weird architecture - "Giant pants"
The China Central Television (CCTV) building in Beijing has been called by many the "Giant Trousers" and "Big Underpants."
The futuristic design by Rem Koolhaas and Ole Scheeren, has two towers leaning towards each other forming a 75 meter (246 foot) cantilever.
China's weird architecture
Window cleaners stand on a platform hanging from the front of the CCTV (China Central Television) building on a sunny day in central Beijing,
China's weird architecture
A building designed as a Chinese temple on one half and western architecture on the other is under construction in a new studio park on December 3, 2015 in Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province of China.
The park also contains replicas of the Egyptian Sphinx, French Louvre Pyramid and some Chinese ancient buildings in Shijiazhuang.
China's weird architecture
The National Center for the Performing Arts, housing Beijing's opera house, was designed by French architect Paul Andreu.
It has been described as a giant space egg.
China's weird architecture
A man takes pictures of the Sheraton Huzhou Hot Spring Resort or "Moon Hotel" behind replicas of the rubber duck by Dutch conceptual artist Florentijn Hofman on Taihu Lake, in Huzhou, Jiangsu province.
The 27-story luxury hotel, designed by Chinese architecture Ma Yansong, opened to the public in October 2013. The hotel is known in China by its nicknames such as the "Doughnut Hotel" and "Horseshoe Hotel," according to local media.
China's weird architecture
A giant steel and mesh "birdcage" caps the uppermost level of a building in Guangzhou, southern China's Guangdong province.
The structure which wraps around the fourth story of the building in the southern city of Guangzhou, complete with a giant hook coming out of the top, and with what appears to be a rock cliff to one side, was ordered to be dismantled by local authorities in 2013.
China's weird architecture
A general view shows the circle-shaped Ring of Life in Fushun, Liaoning province.
The 157 meter (515 foot) high building cost around a hundred million RMB and is made of 3000 tons of steel, local media reported. The circle structure contains a viewing platform and the structure is lit by 12,000 LED lights. Apparently, plans for bungee jumping were abandoned when it was decided the circle was too high.
China's weird architecture
A waitress holding an umbrella walks down the driveway to Chateau Laffitte Hotel, an imitation of the 1650 Chateau Maisons-Laffitte by French architect Francois Mansart, located on the outskirts of Beijing.
China's weird architecture
A boat travels past the Zhuhai Opera House under construction off the coast of the Yeli Island in the Zhuhai Special Economic Zone in Guangdong province.
The opera house, in the shape of two shells, costs about 1.08 billion yuan (170 million USD) and is expected to be completed by May 2016. The main building will house a 1,550 seat concert hall. The small shell will seat 550 people.
China's weird architecture
A worker cleans the exterior ribbing of an urban complex resembling bee hives which accommodate offices and retail shops in Beijing, designed for the Soho group.
China's weird architecture
Two women walk through a building that resembles a Roman Coliseum at the Florentia Village in the district of Wuqing, located on the outskirts of the city of Tianjin.
The shopping center, which covers an area of some 200,000 square meters (124 square miles), was constructed on a former corn field at an estimated cost of US$220 million replicating Italian-style architecture with Florentine arcades, a grand canal, bridges and a coliseum-like building.