One of the longest bridges in northern China collapsed on Friday, just nine months after it opened, setting off a storm of criticism from Chinese Internet users and underscoring questions about the quality of construction in the country’s rapid expansion of its infrastructure. — nytimes.com

We have received plenty of photos of the recently completed Wuxi Grand Theatre in Wuxi, China. Designed by Helsinki-based PES-Architects, the 78,000 m2 (839,600 sq ft) project was the competition-winning entry back in 2008 and is the first large scale example of Finnish design in China. — bustler.net

As growth slows, China's huge investment in infrastructure is looking ever harder to sustain, leaving a string of ambitious projects - towns, shopping malls and even a theme park - empty and forlorn. — bbc.co.uk

Alison Klayman gained unprecedented access to the charismatic artist, as well as his family and others close to him, while working as a journalist in Beijing. In the years she filmed, government authorities shut down Ai's blog, beat him up, bulldozed his newly built studio, and held him in secret detention--while Time Magazine named him a runner-up for 2011's Person of the Year... Klayman's compelling documentary portrait is the inside story of a passionate dissident for the digital age... — youtube.com

As China's flood-ravaged capital dealt with the aftermath of the heaviest rain in six decades Monday, including the deaths of 37 people, questions were being raised about whether the city's push for modernization came at the expense of basic infrastructure such as drainage networks. [...]

The city has seen tens of billions of dollars poured into its modernization [...] — all while basics like water drainage were apparently neglected. — npr.org

A shortlist of five design teams was announced this week by the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA). The selected teams are now invited to submit proposals for the design of the Xiqu Center, one of the first landmark buildings for the West Kowloon Cultural District, the largest cultural project in Hong Kong to date. — bustler.net

The $3.5 billion development covers 12,355 acres and was built to house about 500,000 people, and this is one of "several satellite cities being constructed by Chinese firms around Angola," writes Redvers. — businessinsider.com

The building has two colossal, uneven leaning towers (the highest rises 768 feet) that are conjoined at the top by an enormous angular bridge. Conservative estimates put the cost at nearly $900 million; Koolhaas, for his part, says he has “no idea” of the price. What is certain is that the CCTV building now dominates the skyline of Beijing, just as it dominates the airwaves of the country. — thedailybeast.com

Ai Weiwei has never set foot inside the [Bird's Nest].

He told NPR that the stadium has become entirely divorced from ordinary people.

"We love this building, but we don't like the content they have put in, the kind of propaganda. They dissociated this building [from] citizens' celebration or happiness, [it's] not integrated with the city's life," Ai said. "So I told them I will never go to this building." — npr.org

Danish HAO / Holm Architecture Office has sent us their latest competition entry—designed in collaboration with Archiland Beijing—for an ocean front project near the city of Tianjin, Northern China.

“With the Dongjiang Master Plan we aimed to develop a housing typology that allows for high density while emulating the natural surroundings of the site," said HAO founder Jens Holm. — bustler.net

It took Dubai more than five years to build the 828-meter Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building (for the moment, anyway). But Chinese architects and engineers reckon they need a mere 90 days to leave the Emiratis in the dust. At least, that's what they've claimed. — cnngo.com

Copenhagen firm PinkCloud.dk has shared with us the concept FLIP/CITY, a recent shortlist entry in the 2012 Rethinking Shanghai competition. Design team members Nico Schlapps and Fabian Busse decided to literally flip a flat cityscape vertically to create, explore and grow new types of spaces. — bustler.net

The original is a centuries-old village of 900 and a UNESCO heritage site that survives on tourism. The copycat is a housing estate that thrives on China's new rich. In a China famous for pirated products, the replica Hallstatt sets a new standard. — news24.com

In the international Zhuhai Shizimen Bridge Competition, the entry 'Infinity Loop Bridge' by 10 DESIGN and Buro Happold has won the first prize. This feature bridge in Zhuhai, China is the gateway entry to south China’s new planned commercial hub and also marks the connection of the Shizimen Canal to the Pearl River Delta. — bustler.net

Ai Weiwei will not attend the opening tomorrow of his architectural debut in London. One of the most important artists in the world today, and certainly the most famous Chinese artist, Ai has been under “city arrest” in Beijing since last year, unable to leave the Chinese capital and under constant surveillance from the Communist Party regime. He is accused of tax avoidance but many suspect his treatment is in retaliation for his outspoken and frequent criticism of the Chinese government. — London Evening Standard