118-metre-high building demolished in China

A 118-metre-high office building was demolished today in China's central Shaanxi Province by using 1.4 tonnes of explosives, the tallest structure to have been brought down with detonations in the country.

The 27-storey building in Xi'an city included a basement level and covered more than 37,000 square meters. It was built in 1999, but was never put into use.

Authorities said the building stood empty too long to be transformed for other use, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

A total of 1.4 tonnes of explosives were installed in more than 12,000 locations inside the 118-metre-high building, according to the demolition company.
 

Local government said a commerce and entertainment complex will be built on the site in the next five years.