City Architecture: The Universiade Sports Center
Why Longgang's Universiade Sports Center looks like a crystal crown, and what it has left behind for the city.
Universiade
When I first saw the Universiade Sports Center in Longgang District, I couldn't help letting out a sigh. It doesn't look like a sports venue at all. It looks like dazzling pieces of crystal fitted together into a crown standing on the ground. Its most stunning moment comes at night, the instant the lights switch on. The whole structure seems to come alive: it glows red, then blue, then purple, with the lighting shifting in unpredictable ways, as if it stands for the openness and energy of Shenzhen itself.
In 2011 Shenzhen successfully hosted the Summer Universiade, and the square in front of the Sports Center was lined with flags from countries around the world. That was a proud moment for many Longgang residents. It was not just an event for the city of Shenzhen. For citizens like me who live in Longgang, it was a huge boost. Thanks to the Games, Longgang's transport improved a great deal: many wide new roads were built around the Sports Center, and Longgang got its first metro line, Line 3.
After the Games ended, Longgang kept embracing innovation and progress. Two universities moved in around the Sports Center: the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen campus, and the Moscow campus of Beijing Institute of Technology. The Universiade Village was converted into the Shenzhen Institute of Information Technology. On top of that, the Sports Center has become the go-to venue for many stars who hold concerts in Shenzhen. Longgang has embarked on its own path of high-quality development.
