The Haitian Center is the tallest building in Qingdao city, Shandong province. [Photo/dzwww.com]

A Beijing forum on China's building economy was launched on Sept 7 and a new landmark in the Shinan district of Qingdao city – located in East China's Shandong province – won plaudits there, being recognized as benchmark example of the high-quality development of the building economy in the country, according to media reports.

The Haitian Center – the tallest building in Qingdao, also in Shandong province – was recognized as a "China Building Economy Top 50" and as a "Benchmark Building".

The building economy is the modern move to fully integrate an area's buildings and its commerce. Under its precepts, the building economy is an organic entity and a new industry for driving the economy. Buildings are no longer limited to serving as just real estate properties, but rather are agents for growth.

The district is reportedly upgrading its business environment, with moves to boost its local building economy service management platform.

Shinan currently has more than 130 business office buildings – each with more than 5,000 square meters – with a total floor space of nearly 5 million sq m.

The district is also home to more than 25,000 enterprises mainly related to the finance industry and modern services industry and has 21 buildings which generate total annual taxable revenue of more than 100 million yuan ($15.43 million).  

In addition, local enterprises which rent offices in the buildings benefit from local preferential commercial policies. In 2020, a group of 21 enterprises were awarded a bonus of 6.1 million yuan in total for their outstanding achievements in boosting the local building economy.