China's CCTV leaning towers join together

BEIJING, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- The two leaning towers of the new headquarters for state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV), which became world-famous for their unique shape even when under construction, joined together here on Wednesday with two cantilevered arms.

The arms, 162 meters above Beijing's Central Business District, reached out 75.165 meters and 67.165 meters, respectively, and were joined on Wednesday morning.

They will accommodate 14 stories of offices by using 18,000 tons of steel. It was equivalent to hanging a tall building in the air, the CCTV website said.

The two towers, 234 meters and 194 meters high, respectively, lean six degrees and formed the main building for the new complex that has a floor space of 495,900 square meters.

International media eyed the CCTV building as a symbol of China's growing strength and modernization. Domestic critics, however, said a huge amount of steel was wasted because of its strange shape.

CCTV President Zhao Huayong said at a ceremony that the joining of the cantilevered arms was a "decisive victory" in the construction of the building's steel structure.

A construction worker at the site surnamed Wu said he shot a picture of the building and would show it to his family members and friends. Another worker surnamed Zhao was still wondering if the building would collapse.

The building, designed by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, was listed as one of the wonders of Chinese architecture by U.S.-based Business Week magazine and viewed as the most radical structure in the country.

The huge project, for which the foundation was laid in September 2004, finally won the central government's approval 18 months after it had been halted due to worries about over-heated property investment as well as traffic congestion fears around it.