The shortlist spans skyscrapers, museums, hotels and sports facilities, bringing together some of the unusual shapes and tactless ornamentation that have contributed to the country's reputation for bizarre architecture. The public poll, which at the time of writing had attracted more than 30,000 votes, is currently led by a five-arched gate at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang province. It is closely trailed by a glass bridge in Sichuan province that is suspended between statues of giant men and women in traditional costume.
Other nominees include a museum that has been compared to pots of instant noodles, and a 1.5-kilometer (0.9-mile) stretch of Shanghai towers connected by a single undulating roof.
