Concrete beach attracts Chinese to world's largest building

Chengdu, China

CLAIMING to be the world's largest building by floor space, the 1,760,000 square metre New Century Global Center - packed with shoppers and beach bathers a thousand kilometres from the coast - is a monument to growing Chinese consumer power.

Home to hundreds of shops, restaurants, offices, a cinema and ice rink, the cavernous building in Chengdu, deep in south-western China, also hosts a water park featuring a pool modelled on the seaside.