China’s « 360Photography

RSS

Posts Tagged ‘China’s’

Panda Power Plant: Shaped Solar Panel Array Forms China’s National Animal

06 Jul

[ By WebUrbanist in Drawing & Digital & Gadgets & Geekery & Technology. ]

The world’s largest solar power-producing nation is showing off its record-setting green energy production through an adorable new array shaped like a giant panda bear, the national animal of China.

This Panda Power Plant in Datong, China, is the brainchild of Panda Green Energy in partnership with the United Nations Development Program. And this first sections of this huge creature-shaped station mosaic have just been hooked up to the grid.

The plant also going to grow — currently at 50 megawatts, the installation will have a capacity of 100 MW upon completion. Over the next 25 years, the array is estimated to provide as much power as a million tons of coal and to reduce CO2 emissions by over 2.5 million tons.

The whole panda figure is part of the power production process: darker parts of the animal shape (like legs and arms) are made up of monocrystalline silicone solar cells — gray areas (face and torso) are thin-film solar cells.

An educational center alongside the Panda Power Plant aims to teach children about the advantages of solar power and other forms of sustainable energy. Meanwhile, more panda plants are in planning phases as well across China, and some may also end up outside the country.

[ By WebUrbanist in Drawing & Digital & Gadgets & Geekery & Technology. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]

WebUrbanist

Comments Off

Posted in Creativity

City of Ice: 20 Photos of China’s Amazing Annual Snow Sculptures

26 Dec

[ By SA Rogers in Art & Sculpture & Craft. ]

city-of-ice-illuminated-2015-jarod-carruthers

Dozens of large-scale snow and ice sculptures are once again on display in Harbin, capital of northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, for the Sun Island International Snow Sculpture Art Expo. By day, the massive sculptures depicting folklore, mythology, classical art, cartoon characters and castles almost blend into their icy surroundings like natural formations, and after dark, everything is illuminated with a rainbow of glowing lights. Here are some of the festival’s most impressive sculptures that visitors have captured over the years.

Wild Hair Statue, 2012

city-of-ice-hair-statue-cdschock

Harbin has long, cold winters with temperatures dropping to -36 degrees Fahrenheit, making it cold enough to pack snow very tightly, mold it into place and expect it to stay put. Otherwise, statues with elements like this hair would be difficult to make (photo by cdschock.)

Illuminated Ice Architecture, 2009

city-of-ice-illuminated-architecture-2009-ian-carvell

The annual winter festival is the largest ice and snow festival in the world, drawing international participants to show off their sculpting skills. The ‘Ice and Snow World’ portion, featuring full-sized buildings made from blocks of 2-3 inch thick ice, is best experienced after dark (photo by Ian Carvell.)

Goddess Statue, 2016

city-of-ice-goddess-statue

Each year, the event has a ‘trial run’ between December 22nd and January 4th, officially open to the public between January 5th and February 25th. Every year has a different theme, with 2016’s revealed to be “The Wonderland in the Land of Snow, The Grand View in the World of Ice and Snow.” Not clear on what that means, but we’ll find out when photos are released in early 2017 (photo by Time Travelo.)

Snow Sphinx, 2013

city-of-ice-snow-sphinx-la-priz

city-of-ice-sphinx-la-priz-2

Maybe it’s not quite as large as the original, but this ‘snow sphinx’ photographed by Priscilla Dorresteijn is impressive nonetheless.

Illuminated Ice City at Dusk, 2015

city-of-ice-illuminated-2015-jarod-carruthers

The combination of reflective ice and snow with colored lights creates a pastel scene at dusk (photo by Jarod Carruthers.)

Massive Santa, 2009

city-of-ice-snow-santa-morgann

city-of-ice-santa-ran-zxzzy

This large-scale Santa is downright mountainous, looming over life-sized snow sculptures of architecture and trees (photos by Morgann and rdog)

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
City Of Ice 20 Photos Of Chinas Amazing Annual Snow Sculptures

[ By SA Rogers in Art & Sculpture & Craft. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]

WebUrbanist

Comments Off

Posted in Creativity

China’s Smog-Devouring Vacuum Tower Looks Crazy, But Actually Works

24 Nov

[ By SA Rogers in Conceptual & Futuristic & Technology. ]

china-smog-tower-5

What sounded like a long shot attempt to literally suck some of the suffocating smog out of China’s sky is actually working, according to updates on the Smog Free Project, which installed an air-vacuuming tower in a Beijing square. Created by Studio Roosegaarde, the tower has been up for over 40 days with China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection keeping track of the results. This week, they announced that the air around the tower is 55 percent cleaner than before, scrubbing 30 million cubic meters of air – equal to the volume of 10 Beijing National Stadiums.

china-smog-tower-1

The Smog Free Tower made its debut during Beijing Design Week 2016, with Studio Roosegaarde announcing plans to compress collected smog particles into ‘smog free’ jewelry as a tangible souvenir of the project. Standing 23 feet (7 meters) tall, the tower is the world’s largest air purifier, capable of capturing and collecting more than 75% of the pm2.5 and pm10 airborne smog particles and emitting a circular zone of clean air.

china-smog-tower-2

china-smog-tower-6

Six vents on each side of the super-sized purifier suck in air at a volume of 30,000 cubic meters per hour, about the size of 100 swimming pools, through a patented ionization technique that captures tiny particles without creating ozone in the process. The first tests in Rotterdam earlier this year showed that the filter cleaned surrounding air by 75 percent. Smog is much less of a problem there than it is in Beijing, so it’s no surprise that the machine didn’t do quite as well in China.

china-smog-tower-4

Daan Roosegaarde sees his creation as the beginning of a war on smog, indicating that larger towers are planned in the future and will be expanded to additional cities. One potential limitation may be that the filters are reportedly so expensive, the firm won’t reveal their cost – but all technology has to start somewhere, so maybe there’s a solution for that somewhere down the line.

[ By SA Rogers in Conceptual & Futuristic & Technology. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]

WebUrbanist

Comments Off

Posted in Creativity

Prism Break: China’s Eye-Soothing Rainbow Road Tunnel

19 Jan

[ By Steve in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

China Rainbow Tunnel 2
A 1,000-foot long rainbow underpass in Zhengzhou, China is designed to help drivers’ eyes adjust from daylight to a artificial lighting and back again.

China Rainbow Tunnel 2b

China Rainbow Tunnel 2a

Break out the Skittles, it’s time to drive the rainbow! Well, almost… the Cheng Avenue rainbow tunnel isn’t quite ready for prime time though it’s already cost Zhongmou County a pot of gold – about 100,000,000 yuan (about $ 16 million) and counting.

China Rainbow Tunnel 6

China Rainbow Tunnel 8

China Rainbow Tunnel 8b

The tunnel (actually a shallow underpass) is located about 50 meters north of the S223 Provincial Highway intersection just outside Zhengzhou in China’s east-central Henan province. The area around the project appears rather dry and drab; the soil radiating the pale yellow hue of dust blown eastward by strong winds scouring the Gobi Desert.

China Rainbow Tunnel 9a

China Rainbow Tunnel 9

China Rainbow Tunnel 7b

China Rainbow Tunnel 7a

If civic planning authorities intended to alleviate the visual monotony by injecting some color into the landscape, a 400-meter (1,312 ft) long “rainbow tunnel” is one way to do it. No matter if some bureaucratic committee can’t decide on a single hue: the rainbow tunnel has got ‘em all!

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Prism Break Chinas Eye Soothing Rainbow Road Tunnel

[ By Steve in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]

WebUrbanist

Comments Off

Posted in Creativity

Reflections: China’s Lost Lakes Resurface in Urban Beijing

26 Jul

[ By Steph in Art & Installation & Sound. ]

China Lost Lakes Installation 1

As China has transformed from a largely agricultural society to an industrial superpower, vastly changing its landscape with both construction equipment and the unintended effects of climate change, over 240 of its lakes have disappeared. In less than half a century, so much of the nation’s natural beauty and tranquility has been lost. A project called The Lost Lakes brings it back temporarily in the illusory form of lake-shaped mirrors installed in the middle of urban Beijing.

China Lost Lakes Installation 2

The lost lakes haven’t just impacted China’s ecology; rapid urbanization has caused severe droughts and water shortages across the country. The problem affects every Chinese citizen. The Lost Lakes installation brings this problem home to city dwellers in the form of customized mirrors mimicking the reflection of water in unexpected places.

China Lost Lakes Installation 3

Fifteen craftsman spent six weeks creating mirrors with curved edges that fit together like puzzle pieces. They’re designed to stand up to weather and curious onlookers, and can be transported and reassembled in a new location.

China Lost Lakes Installation 4

Over 350,000 people have visited the installation to ‘reflect’ upon what the loss of natural bodies of water means to them (or maybe just to gaze at themselves and the skyscrapers around them.)

[ By Steph in Art & Installation & Sound. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]

WebUrbanist

Comments Off

Posted in Creativity

360Photography

Posts Tagged ‘China’s’

Panda Power Plant: Shaped Solar Panel Array Forms China’s National Animal