Chongqing-The construction of the Cuntan International New Town celebrates new progress. On December 22, the Chongqing Municipal Bureau of Planning and Natural Resources released the construction plans on the Cuntan International Cruise Center and the Chongqing Cuntan Cruise Terminal Transportation Oriented Development (TOD).

The two erections, looking like "gantry cranes" and "a dragon gate on golden riverside area," respectively, will create a public space at Cuntan International Cruise Home Port, displaying Chongqing's profound history, opening up, and inclusiveness.

 A walking city

Cuntan International Cruise Center is a major functional facility to boost the construction of the Cuntan International Cruise Home Port and a landmark of Chongqing. Situated at the Cuntan Port area, the project covers an area of 6.6 hectares. Its capacity-building area reaches 65,000 m², of which 15,000 m² is for the passenger terminal and 50,000 m² for business. The center is expected to develop a cruise home port-based complex, taking into consideration the cargo berth renovation.

The selected plan came from MAD Architects and the China Academy of Building Research (consortium). According to the leading architects, the plan was inspired by gantry cranes widely seen at Cuntan Port before to showcase the development track of Chongqing and inherit the legacy of history.

Six relatively independent orange buildings "float" in the air, seeming like a colossal walking city or a set of giant robots. They, together, become a unique landmark of Chongqing and offer a culturally distinctive and intriguing signature public space.

The space under the buildings will be developed into a park with a lawn. The urban center will be connected with the riverside area. The outdoor public space will be left to residents — a plan to utilize the underground and above-ground spaces and the land efficiently. The functional transportation zone is set underground and connected with the port area.

 A gate to the outside world, a window to the future

According to an official, Chongqing Cuntan Cruise Terminal TOD is a critical transportation and business complex in Cuntan International New Town. It sits on the north side of the central axis, above the Cruise Terminal Station of CRT Line 9, covering an area of two hectares. Its capacity-building area reaches 100,000 m², of which 30,000 m² is for the business and 70,000 m² for commercial offices.

The selected plan was submitted by Aedas Asia Limited, Beijing Institute of Architectural Design, and China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group (consortium). Andy Wen, a leading architect of the project and Global Design Principal of Aedas, introduced that the building would be in the shape of "a dragon gate on the golden riverside area."

It looks like a door from the river and like a window from the Cuntan International Cruise Home Port — a door to the outside world and a window to the future.

The project also values efficient space utilization. The building features a landscape corridor on the central axis, and the top is through, leaving room for design. Its appearance is symmetrical, modern, simple, but impressive. Emphasizing the urban axis, it is expected to become a landmark of Chongqing.

According to a relevant official, Chongqing has made great efforts to solicit plans from all over the world in the past years. In total, 91 excellent design organizations from 12 countries and regions were attracted, and 14 academicians and top-notch architects were engaged. This has effectively improved the design level of construction projects in Chongqing and attracted more and more high-level design organizations from home and abroad to participate in Chongqing's planning and construction fields.

Crack the hard nut of water level change

Cuntan International Cruise Home Port grows out of the Cuntan Port, which is a cargo port. Developing this cargo port into a cruise port will be the largest project of its kind in China's and the world's inland rivers.

According to a project head, the water level change of the Three Gorges Reservoir area is the hardest nut to crack, with the change reaching 33.4 meters. This leads to two difficulties: It affects the comfortability of passengers to get off-board and makes it difficult to keep port machinery equipment above water for safe operation.

So how can Chongqing implement this ambitious plan? The Chongqing Jiangbeizui Central Business District Investment Group Co., Ltd. will retain the 796-meter-long quay wall and add a boarding bridge to the existing structures and a lifting device to the shoreside through hydraulic structure transformation. 

Meanwhile, a sensing device will intelligently monitor the water level in real-time. A hydraulic latch device will automatically adjust the water level to the range suitable for berthing cruises. Those machinery equipment ensure a safe connection between cruises and the port.

In a word, Cuntan International Cruise Home Port will provide a safe, comfortable, convenient, and intelligent passenger experience.