Photographs Present Condo Constructing in China With 30K Residents?

For years, pictures have circulated on social media allegedly exhibiting an condo constructing in China that homes 30,000 residents. A Reddit publish from September 2024, that includes a collage of three photos, claimed: “The Regent Worldwide condo constructing in Hangzhou, China, has a inhabitants of round 30,000 folks.”

The Regent International apartment building in Hangzhou, China, has a population of around 30,000 people.
byu/HORROR_VIBE_OFFICIAL inDamnthatsinteresting

“China has buildings that homes 30,000 folks,” one other Reddit person wrote.

These photos unfold throughout a number of platforms, together with Instagram, Threads, Facebook, YouTube, VKontakte and TikTok. One TikTok video showcasing the constructing garnered vital consideration, with greater than 780,000 views and 15,000 reactions as of this writing.

This declare additionally appeared in numerous on-line retailers, comparable to The Sun, Oddity Central and UNILAD Tech.

In accordance with these sources, the Regent Worldwide condo constructing was positioned in Qianjiang Century Metropolis, the central enterprise district within the metropolis of Hangzhou.

Whereas the constructing proven within the pictures does exist and is certainly in Hangzhou, discrepancies stay relating to what number of residents stay there and whether or not the determine of 30,000 is correct. Due to this fact, this declare is rated as a combination of each true and undetermined data.

Does This Constructing Exist?

The total Chinese language name of the constructing is “新世界·丽晶国际中心,” which implies “New World Regent Worldwide Heart” in English, based on Google Translate.

The constructing’s form and construction within the social media pictures aligned completely with the picture accessible on the Chinese language equal of Google Maps, Baidu Maps (see picture beneath).

(Reddit u/HORROR_VIBE_OFFICIAL, Baidu Maps)

On Baidu Maps, the constructing was labeled as “Regent Worldwide Heart,” whereas on Google Maps, it appeared below the title “Lijing Worldwide Heart.”

(Baidu Maps)

Nonetheless, in Google Maps, the constructing labeled as “Lijing Worldwide Heart,” which featured pictures of the constructing in query, was present in a barely totally different location. 

Close by on Google Maps, the distinctive S-shaped Regent Worldwide Heart was current however not explicitly labeled as such. This misalignment is a results of a well-known issue in China, the place road maps and satellite tv for pc imagery on platforms like Google Maps are intentionally offset to adjust to Chinese language regulation (see screenshot beneath). 

(Google Maps)

Lastly, the constructing in query was additionally visible from the closest park on Google Maps (proven close to the middle of the screenshot beneath).

How Many Folks Dwell There?

The declare that 30,000 folks stay within the constructing lacked affirmation from credible sources. Whereas some stories estimated between 10,000 and 20,000 folks reside there, the determine of 30,000 might replicate the constructing’s most capability quite than its present occupancy.

For example, UNILAD Tech reported that Regent Worldwide “is house to over 20,000 residents and has room for an extra 10,000.” In distinction, a segment from Galileo, a German science TV collection, said the constructing may accommodate as much as 20,000 folks. Nonetheless, neither of those sources is definitive.

Multiple Chinese language-language articles have additionally addressed the constructing’s inhabitants. A 2023 article from Hangzhou Community Media (translated utilizing Google Translate) stated: “Through the peak interval of the inhabitants transferring into the shared housing, Regent Worldwide had greater than 30,000 residents.”

Nonetheless, a 2021 report cited within the article famous that solely 10,000 everlasting residents had been formally recognized on the time:

Ranging from Might 2021, the native police station, neighborhood and property administration staff labored collectively to conduct a large-scale investigation of the complicated enterprise codecs and personnel of Regent Worldwide. They obtained data on the greater than 10,000 everlasting residents of Regent Worldwide by way of constructing scans and telephone registration, and used “Ding Guanjia” for real-time classification administration to strictly management the variety of group leases. The unique enterprise codecs within the constructing had been additionally standardized, and bars, and so on. had been cleared out.

Yang Weiwei, district supervisor of Hangzhou Vanke Property Providers reportedly stated that, based on property statistics, 25% of Regent Worldwide was occupied by corporations, many associated to live-streaming.

“On weekdays, in the event you stand on the entrance of the constructing, you will note a surge of individuals,” Yang was quoted as explaining. “The height movement of individuals each day is at 7 or 8 within the morning and 5 or 6 within the afternoon. … A few of these folks come to work in Regent, and a few exit of Regent to work.”

In the meantime, a 2021 article by Finance Sina talked about that estimates range:

Some say that at the very least 10,000 folks stay on this constructing, whereas others say 20,000.

I made a tough estimate.

There are 50 rooms on every flooring of Regent Worldwide. Assuming that every room is split into 6 rooms, half of the constructing has 36 flooring and the opposite half has 39 flooring. So the variety of rooms is 25*6*(36+39)=11250.

Every compartment homes 1-2 folks, so the whole variety of folks is about 11,000 to 22,000.

In accordance with an article revealed by Chinese language information outlet Daily People in mid-October 2024, police on the native station reported that the constructing “as soon as housed practically 20,000 folks.”

Due to this fact, as a result of inconsistent figures and lack of official affirmation, it was not doable to substantiate whether or not the condo presently homes 30,000 folks.

Snopes was unable to seek out an official contact for the constructing, however we now have reached out to the Hangzhou City Public Security Bureau to ask if they’ve any data relating to the variety of folks presently residing within the block.

For additional studying, Snopes debunked a false rumor in November 2001 that the Nice Wall of China is the one human-made object seen from the moon. We additionally looked at claims in 2023 that TikTok is banned in China.

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