A Decade of Controversy! Wang Jianlin Spends 150 Million on Chengdu-Made Flowers—Earning 625,000 Yuan Back from Each Glass Panel

At 7 a.m. at the Qingcheng Bridgehead, a colossal petal-shaped structure made of 8,000 pieces of colored-glazed glass is refracting the morning glow into shimmering, flowing light spots—mirroring the timeless golden hues of the Dujiangyan Irrigation System in the distance. This "Hibiscus Flower," painstakingly crafted by Wang Jianlin at a cost of 150 million yuan, has remained one of Chengdu's most polarizing and iconic landmarks in the city’s cultural and tourism landscape over the years. Remarkably, the interplay of light and shadow here echoes the sharp online critique from a decade ago: "Spending 150 million yuan on a flower is better spent building schools." Yet today, Wang Jianlin’s decade-long endeavor—the Chengdu Wanda City featuring the 150-million-yuan Hibiscus Flower—has transformed from what many deemed an "expensive misstep" into a thriving "money-printing machine." As the yardstick for evaluation shifts from construction costs to cultural significance, behind the "mythical profitability" of each glass panel, valued at 625,000 yuan, lies the shrewd strategic bet made by this commercial real estate giant on becoming a defining urban landmark.

 

 

Investment Decoding: The Business Strategy Behind the 150 Million

 

Rising amidst the mountain hollows of Yutang Town in Dujiangyan, this metallic flower sculpture carries strategic significance far beyond its architectural purpose. While its construction cost of 150 million may seem staggering when viewed in isolation, it actually accounts for just 0.27% of the project’s total investment of 55 billion—comparable to spending only 2,000 yuan on design fees for a property worth tens of millions. This "betting big with small" investment strategy has already been successfully applied in Wanda’s cultural and tourism projects: For instance, Wanda City in Harbin once invested 150 million yuan to create the world’s largest curling-themed exhibition center, which now forms a symbolic marketing partnership with Chengdu’s “Hibiscus Flower,” creating a harmonious north-south contrast.

 

Wanda’s brilliance lies in transforming cultural symbols into a powerful traffic driver. The 10,000-square-meter exhibition center welcomed over 300,000 visitors within its first month of operation. Inside, immersive experiences like life-size ski simulators and a 7D cinema serve as a compact preview of Wanda City’s core offerings. Data shows that this “experiential marketing” approach has boosted the conversion rate among potential customers by an impressive 37% compared to traditional advertising methods. Even local taxi drivers vividly attest to its success: "If you say you’re heading to Wanda City, no one gets it—but mention ‘that big hibiscus flower,’ and everyone instantly knows exactly how to get there."

 

 

From the perspective of construction efficiency, this "Hibiscus Flower" stands as a textbook case in commercial real estate development. After design work commenced in September 2015, the project was completed and opened to the public in less than half a year. Thanks to the millimeter-level precision achieved through BIM system management during construction, the 8,000 uniquely shaped glass panels were assembled with zero errors. Behind this "Wanda Speed" lies the company's keen grasp of Chengdu's opportunity to become a world-class tourism destination—when the city called for a cultural landmark, Wanda promptly delivered a visually striking and instantly recognizable symbol.

 

 

Symbolic Economics: From Architectural Marvels to Urban IP

 

The design code behind this metallic hibiscus flower holds the delicate balance between commerce and culture. The design team abandoned the costly curved curtain-wall approach, instead innovatively adopting a "three-segment arc-joint method." Each petal is broken down into three standard arc-shaped surfaces, which are then combined using digitally printed colored-glazed glass to create visually seamless, flowing curves. Moreover, an individual coding system embedded in each glass panel ensures precise installation—like a three-dimensional puzzle—and helps maintain the vibrant colors over time, even in the rainy climate of western Sichuan.

 

Inside the architecture, the cultural expression reveals even greater craftsmanship: A 5.1-meter-tall dot-matrix art glass mural recreates the scene of "Worshipping Water at Dujiangyan, Seeking Taoism on Qingcheng Mountain," while水墨-inspired fabric curtains seamlessly blend with elements of Bashu bamboo blinds, infusing the modern space with the serene ambiance of traditional Sichuanese rural dwellings. As night falls, vibrant full-color digital lighting dances along the veins of delicate flower petals, making the entire blossom appear as though it’s blooming gracefully in water—creating a mesmerizing interplay of reality and illusion against the silhouette of Qingcheng Mountain. This thoughtfully designed masterpiece transcends its role as mere architecture, evolving into a powerful cultural vessel. Since its opening, it has become the picturesque backdrop for over 2,000 wedding photography sessions, while local retirees have embraced the surrounding green spaces as their favorite spot for morning exercises—a testament to its transformation from a commercial icon into an integral part of daily life.

 

 

Comparing the "Hibiscus Flower" design of Changsha Meixi Lake Art Museum further highlights the commercial nature of the Chengdu project. Zaha ・ Hadid's architectural complex in Changsha draws inspiration from the abstract concept of petal ripples, while Chengdu's "Hibiscus Flower" project opts for a more straightforward, figurative expression. This distinction stems from their differing functional purposes: the former, as an art sanctuary, seeks to embody timeless values, whereas the latter, serving as a commercial showcase center, aims to swiftly convey cultural messages. Together, these two approaches beautifully illustrate the multifaceted potential of the hibiscus flower as a cultural symbol.

 

 

Ten Years of Operation: From Traffic Star to Economic Engine

 

After nearly a decade of operation, Chengdu Wanda City, home to "Furong Flower," has become deeply integrated into the regional economic ecosystem. Although the latest operational data for 2025 hasn’t been released yet, based on the project’s planned targets, once fully operational, it is expected to create 15,000 jobs, boost Dujiangyan’s permanent population by more than 100,000 residents, and attract an annual influx of 50 million visitors. This scale, compared to Chengdu’s total tourist numbers of 19.956 million during the 2025 Spring Festival period, underscores Wanda City’s critical role as a major gateway driving tourism and cultural consumption in western Chengdu.

 

From the perspective of业态布局, "Furong Flower" is just the tip of the iceberg. The entire Wanda City encompasses 300,000 square meters of Wanda Plaza—including a 100,000-square-meter indoor four-season ski resort—along with a 60-hectare theme park and a cluster of hotels, offering a diverse range of business formats. According to the latest recruitment information released in 2025, emerging attractions like Shudu Wanda VR Park are still expanding rapidly, with strong demand for retail staff positions, further demonstrating the project's ongoing vitality. Notably, areas within the theme park, such as "Tianfu Paradise" and "Bashu Fortress," echo the cultural symbolism of "Furong Flower," creating a comprehensive consumer chain that allows visitors to fully experience Bashu culture.

 

 

For Dujiangyan, this metallic flower has brought more than just an increase in tourist numbers. Before the project was completed, the local tourism industry had long suffered from a structural flaw—visitors would "see the temple during the day and go to sleep at night." However, Wanda City has addressed this issue by introducing all-day, multi-faceted attractions, effectively extending the average length of visitors' stays from 1.2 days to 2.7 days. According to calculations by Dujiangyan's cultural and tourism authorities, Wanda City has boosted the region's annual tourism revenue by an average of 19%, directly driving the area’s transition from sightseeing-oriented travel to immersive, experience-based tourism.

 

 

Controversy Revealed: Reevaluating the Value of Cultural Symbols

 

Despite its commercial success, the aesthetic controversy surrounding "Hibiscus Flower" has never subsided. Netizens have criticized it for having "too literal a design" and for being a "simple assemblage of cultural symbols," echoing similar criticisms leveled at Wang Jianlin's earlier investment in the Blue-and-White Porcelain-themed Wanda Plaza. These remarks reflect the public's complex expectations regarding cultural expression in commercial real estate—desiring clear cultural insights while simultaneously resisting overly explicit symbol-driven consumption.

 

 

Compared to the abstract, sloping-roof design of the "Flower Residence" architecture at the Chengdu World Horticultural Exposition during the same period, the figurative expression of the "Hibiscus Flower" certainly sparked more controversy. Yet, the architect’s defense is equally worth noting: "As a ‘billboard’ for this cultural and tourism project, it needs to convey cultural identity within three seconds—such an efficiency-driven design logic is entirely justifiable." Time seems to be gradually easing the criticism, as local residents have begun their morning exercises amidst the shimmering patterns cast by the flower-shaped petals, and children are already using the glass curtain walls as natural canvases. In this way, the building has transcended its initial controversies, evolving into a vessel that now holds the collective memories of the community.

 

 

During the 2025 Spring Festival period, Chengdu’s city-wide cultural and tourism revenue reached 17.21 billion yuan, marking a remarkable 12.1% year-on-year growth—and this impressive figure may offer fresh insight into the ongoing debate. Against the backdrop of cultural and tourism integration, the 150 million yuan investment in the "Furong Flower" has already been transformed into tangible cultural capital. Far from being merely a marketing tool for Wanda Plaza, it has evolved into a symbolic cultural icon not only for Dujiangyan but for the entire city of Chengdu. As one cultural scholar put it: "When evaluating such architectural projects, we shouldn’t focus solely on their artistic purity; instead, we should assess whether they truly integrate into the city’s fabric and become a cultural code that resonates with residents."

 

 

The morning sunlight filters through the glass petals, casting ever-changing, decade-old patterns of light and shadow on the ground. Perhaps the true value of this steel lotus flower lies not in its staggering 150-million-dollar price tag, but in what it symbolizes: the seamless fusion of commercial capital and cultural identity. As architecture evolves from a mere showcase into a city’s defining IP, and as commercial investments begin to resonate deeply with cultural pride, this seemingly costly "facade investment" is, over time, yielding far more than anyone could have anticipated.