China has opened the doors on what it bills as the world's largest planetarium, a slick new Shanghai facility showcasing the nation's recent extra-terrestrial exploits while notably downplaying those of space pioneers like the United States. In recent months, China has landed a spacecraft on Mars, set loose a rover to explore it, and sent the first astronauts to a Chinese space station. Scale-model replicas of spaceships from these and other missions figure prominently at the new Shanghai Planetarium, along with paeons to China's rapid scientific advancement, and clips of President Xi Jinping addressing the nation's taikonauts. The building was designed by New York's Ennead Architects and resembles a union of swirling galaxies. It covers 38,000sq m, (420,000sq feet) of floor space - roughly equal to five football fields and cost US$93mil (RM392mil), according to Chinese media.

Source: The Star July 30, 2021 14:03 UTC