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Guangdong Special: 76-floor 'King of Lighting' to shine over Guzhen

By Zhang Zhao (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-10-23 08:06

Lighting products made in Guzhen account for 60 percent of the country's total and are also sold in some 130 countries and regions. Photos by Wang Jing / China Daily

To mark its status as a global center in the lighting industry the township of Guzhen in Zhongshan city is erecting a landmark building called King of Lighting that town officials say is "the only oil lamp-shaped building in the world in classical European style".

With a price tag exceeding 1.5 billion yuan ($225.6 million), the building in Guangdong province will be some 330 meters tall with 76 floors - including three floors underground - housing total floor space of 140,000 square meters.

The multifunctional building will include a sightseeing tower, restaurants, a conference center with a capacity of more than 1,000 people and a museum of lighting.

As one of China's earliest centers making light bulbs, Guzhen boasts title "China's Lighting Capital".

More than 9,000 lighting companies are based in the town, including more than 4,000 lighting accessory companies and more than 3,000 lighting shops by the end of last year.

More than 70,000 people work in the industry.

Products made in Guzhen account for almost 60 percent of China's total, and are sold in more than 130 countries and regions.

The industrial output value from the town's lighting business reached 16.6 billion yuan last year, with exports reaching $666 million.

Host of a globally renowned lighting fair every October, Guzhen has wide-ranging production lines and rapidly updated styles.

Its latest designs play a leading role in setting the lighting trends in China.

Several R&D institutes and companies in the town are involved in drafting the national standards for the lighting industry.

By developing more efficient lighting including fluorescent lamps, energy-saving bulbs and light emitting diode (LED) lamps, the town is now becoming a center of eco-friendly industry.

There are now nearly 500 LED makers in Guzhen, a number of which lead the domestic and even global markets.

(China Daily 10/23/2010 page4)