中国大连 —— 中国城市大连已开始建设一个大型商业综合体，宣传资料承诺将“满足从吃喝到娱乐购物的所有消费需求”。大连东港天堂综合体将由三座塔楼组成，通过一个平台连接，该平台跨越两座塔楼的屋顶并延伸至第三座塔楼的上层。该设计让人联想到新加坡滨海湾金沙综合度假村。
DALIAN, China -- Construction of a massive commercial complex has begun in the Chinese city of Dalian, complete with promotional materials promising to "meet all consumer needs from eating and drinking to entertainment and shopping." The Dalian Donggang Paradise complex will consist of three towers connected by a platform spanning the rooftops of two towers and extending to an upper floor of the third. The design evokes the Marina Bay Sands integrated resort in Singapore.
预计在两年建设完成时，一家豪华酒店将成为入驻租户。该综合体于9月开工建设，还将设有层高4.8米的高端办公空间，以及餐厅和艺术设施。
A luxury hotel is expected to be a tenant by the time construction is completed in two years. The complex, which began construction in September, will also feature upscale office space with 4.8 meter-high ceilings, as well as restaurants and art facilities.
住在附近的一名39岁男子说：“我对这个综合体很好奇。开业时我会带孩子去。”
"I'm curious about the complex. When it opens, I'll take my kids there," said a 39-year-old man who lives nearby.
市政府官员也在大力宣传该项目，发布更新称“即使在10月初的长假期间施工也在继续”。新综合体的建设工地正对着一座计划于年底完工的55层高楼。问题是，这座城市是否真正需要这样规模的超大型综合体。
City officials have also been talking up the project, sending an update that "construction continued even during the long holiday in early October." The site of the new complex’s construction is right in front of a 55-story tower slated for completion by year-end. The question is whether this city truly needs a mega complex of this scale.
大连缺乏像北京、上海等中国核心“一线城市”那样规模的商业中心。过去十年，该市国内生产总值仅增长29%，远低于中国整体的110%。大连所在的辽宁省，60岁及以上人口占比达33%，为全国最高。这使大连成为一个经济增长乏力的典型区域性城市。事实上，该项目斜对面的威尼斯风格旅游景区有许多空置商铺。该项目斜对面的威尼斯风格旅游景区商业入驻寥寥无几。
Dalian lacks a business hub of the same scale as China's core "tier one" cities, such as Beijing or Shanghai. The city's gross domestic product over the last decade grew just 29%, a far cry from 110% for China as a whole. People 60 and older make up 33% of Liaoning province, home of Dalian -- the highest in the country. This makes Dalian a typical regional city with sluggish economic growth. In fact, the Venice-inspired tourist attraction area diagonally across from the project has many vacant retail spaces. The Venetian-style tourist attraction area diagonally across from the project has few commercial tenants.
在该景点以西，有一块土地在15多年前就被预期将建成一座500米高的摩天大楼。该项目此后经历了大幅修改，并多次延期。
To the west of the attraction lies a plot of land anticipated more than 15 years ago to be the site of a 500-meter skyscraper. The project has since been revised substantially and repeatedly delayed.
在市中心车程15分钟处，两座高度分别为383米和370米的高层塔楼空置至今。它们分别于2016年和2019年竣工，却无租户入驻，日落后窗户漆黑一片，在夜空中成为令人不安的剪影。
A 15-minute drive away in the city center, two high-rise towers standing at 383 meters and 370 meters remain vacant. They were completed in 2016 and 2019 but have no tenants, and after sunset, their windows stay dark, becoming ominous silhouettes in the night sky.
大连东港天堂的开发商尚未披露详细计划，说明如何在一个写字楼和商业需求短期内不太可能激增的城市中让该项目盈利。摩天大楼灯火全无，融入夜空之中。
The developer of Dalian Donggang Paradise has not disclosed a detailed plan on how to make the project profitable in a city where demand for office space and shopping is unlikely to surge anytime soon. Skyscrapers stand unlit, blending into the night sky.
据当地媒体报道，开发商已增加住宅作为土地用途，表明该公司可能正寻求从购买住宅单元作为投资的买家那里获取现金收入。
According to local media reports, the developer has added housing as a land use, indicating the company may be eyeing cash revenue from those buying residential units as an investment.
地方政府更关注让项目开工，而非后续发展。中国城市土地属于国家所有，地方政府通过出让土地使用权给开发商获得了巨额收入。
Local governments are focused on getting a project started more than what comes next. Urban land in China is state owned and local governments have generated large revenues by selling the land use rights to developers.
批评人士和分析师敦促中国以消费驱动经济增长，而非依赖投资作为经济扩张的主要引擎。在今夏通过的一项旨在提振消费的五年规划中，北京设想让消费成为经济增长的关键驱动力。
Critics and analysts have urged China to aim for consumption-driven economic growth, rather than relying on investment as the main engine of economic expansion. In a five-year plan for boosting consumption adopted this summer, Beijing envisions consumption serving as a key driver of economic growth.