Chinese Town Unveils Hotel W. Room For 5,000 Customers, 1-Ton Solid Gold Ox Statue

[hatrack]

A woman stands next to a gold statue of an ox during the official inauguration of the Longxi hotel on Oct. 8. The one-tonne statue greets visitors at a viewing area on the 60th-floor of the tower.

A once-sleepy village in the countryside of eastern China celebrated its 50th anniversary Saturday by unveiling an incongruous addition to its skyline: a skyscraper taller than the Chrysler Building.

The 74-story Longxi International Hotel towers 328 meters (1,076 feet) above the village of Huaxi and cost 3 billion yuan ($472 million) to build, according to the state-owned China Daily newspaper.


An aerial photo of the Longxi International Hotel, which stands at 328 meters high and cost $472 million to build, in Huaxi, which is still classified as a village, in east China's Jiangsu province on September 24.

"The building exudes wealth and excess," wrote The Guardian's Jonathan Watts, who was given a tour before the official opening. One of the most impressive features is a one-tonne gold statue of an ox, said to be worth $47.2 million.

EDIT

http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/10/10/8252200-chinese-village-unveils-skyscraper-taller-than-the-chrysler-building

[nuxvomica]

1. Wouldn't 1-ton of gold be worth more than $47.2 million?

I calculated 32,000 x 1672.80 per ounce = $53,529,600. At first I thought the bull was just a morbidly excessive display of wealth but it appears to be more of an investment.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

3. If you use "troy ounces" (sometimes used for precious metals) you get $48.9M (n/t)

[nuxvomica]

4. Thank you

I didn't think it could be that far off. I know nothing about metals trading. :dunce:

[kristopher]

8. You'll need to document your arithmetic...

One troy ounce is a shade less than 10% more than a regular ounce, so the post by nuxvomica seems in the general range.

The original Guardian article specifies "solid gold".
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/06/huaxi-village-tower-china

There are obviously some substantial errors in the information provided by the reporter.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

10. (29167 troy ounce per US ton) $1660/oz x 29167 = $48.4M

The price fluctuates with the price of gold, but today it appears to be $1660/oz
There are (29167 troy ounce per US ton)

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

2. It might be "1 ton" of gold... bu no way is that statue "solid gold"

That's a big ass statue to be "solid".
If it were solid gold it'd weigh way more than 1 ton.
Heck, if that thing were steel it'd weight more than a ton.

[wtmusic]

13. +1. Making it solid gold would be pointless, to boot.

The gold inside (that's never seen) could build another hotel.

[FBaggins]

18. Wouldn't be able to hold its head up.

Solid gold is too soft.

And as you say... A ton would be less than two cubic feet... So that would have to be very good forced perspective to make it look so tall.

[Arctic Dave]

5. So this is the reason we need to pollute our enviroment?

So a bunch of douchebags can have a solid gold calf to worship.

Fuck that! I hope an earthquake destroys that building.

[parkia00]

6. And kill lots of people you don't like huh?

Real original. Real pathetic. But yet not really surprising. You obviously have no idea about the town of Huaxi. People on DU talk all the time of socialism and what can be achieved if things run properly. This village is not called China's wealthiest village for no reason. One can even consider it the perfect example of socialism because the entire village works as a collective. All the taxes from industries are pooled together. This hotel is owned by over 200 people in the town and built by the taxes they pay and profits will go back into the town and it's people. All the schools, hospitals, infrastructure and public halls are built the same way. High taxes to pay for wealth generating projects which in turn increase more wealth which in turn increases tax income and the cycle starts again.

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[parkia00]

9. You always call people who disagree with you fancy names?

That's always a popular way to argue isn't it? T

[silverweb]

11. Gross.

:puke:

[Kolesar]

15. With all the art of a chemical refining plant ... eom

[silverweb]

17. You've got that right.

:thumbsup:

[truebrit71]

12. A Golden Calf...very appropriate, no?

...it would appear that whomever came up with the statue never heard of the old testament story...

...either that or they are completely irony-deficient...

[Nihil]

14. Or ...

... their culture pre-dates that particular bunch of wandering
desert barbarians so they pay no more attention to their tales
than most people do to those of Scientologists (for example).

:shrug:

[truebrit71]

16. ..yup, the Chinese conversion to western capitalism pre-dates xtianity...

...The Golden Calf is referred to as more of a symbol of worshipping false idols, like money/greed for instance, rather than a specific religion anymore...That was my point...

Never mind...