Another 'biggest' opening in Shanghai …

Take a look at the photo to the right and tell us what you think you see. We thought it was a new stadium at first glance -- and, oh boy, Shanghai really needs one of those. (That was sarcasm.)

After a series of Google searches -- yes, it worked -- we found out it was the new Shanghai South Railway Station, which should open in April of this year (story in Chinese). Carrying a message of “Keeping Pace With Time” and serving as a national transportation hub, the station will be regarded as a landmark of Shanghai's south gate.

Billed as the biggest round station in the world, the new design featuring a glass and steel arch that covers 50,000 square meters in Minhang District.

“The round shape not only looks beautiful, but is also very functional as it can connect to roads running in different directions," said Gao Huiwen in an old Chinatrips report. She is/was a spokeswoman for the local East China Architectural Design and Research Institute Co., Ltd., which cooperated with France-based AREP design company to draft blueprints for the structure.

The main building consists of three layers. The lower layer, for arrivals, is equipped with underground exit passages, transit lounges and a ticket hall. The middle layer is the platform, while the upper layer is designed for departures and features an overhead round platform of a circumference of 800 meters and contains passages ticket checkup and a big waiting-room for 10,000 people.

Hey, maybe all this means People's Square station will be less crowded come May! Nah, we don't think so, either.