Beijingers are going to get the chance to enjoy a bird's-eye view of the city, thanks to the construction of the world's biggest ferris wheel.

The wheel will be 210 meters high with 60 compartments holding a total of 720 passengers, far surpassing the size of London Eye, which is currently the world's biggest wheel with a 132-metre diameter.

The project will start early next year, finishing prior to 2007, with foreign investment of US$100 million, according to Bob Lamb, director-general of the Oriental Wheel Company.

The company has been specially formed by the Europe-based Global Investment & Banking Corporation (GIBC), the wheel's sole investor.

As part of the project, there will be a festival marketplace at the base of the wheel, which contains restaurants, shops, a theatre and other amusement facilities, said Lamb.

"We chose to build this wheel in Beijing because of the city's tremendous economic growth up to and through the 2008 Olympic Games, the local government's favorable policy for this type of project and because it benefits millions of tourists every year,'' said GIBC Chief Executive Greg Burnard.

Beijing's Chaoyang District has approved the company's plan to build the wheel in Chaoyang Park, which is close to the city's Central Business District'' in the east of Beijing.

Taller than today's major buildings in the district, the wheel's top point will provide good views of the city.

Several other cities in China already have plans to build big wheels in amusement parks, including a proposed 170-meter-high wheel in Shanghai and an 100-meter-high one in Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province. 
 
(China Daily October 17, 2003)