You can just imagine the construction manager of the new stadium in Heilongjiang province’s Tonghe County talking to friends about the completion of his latest project. How would he slip it in? Perhaps he would say that they cut no corners in the building of the new stadium, or that the stadium could become the cornerstone of the region, or maybe that the stadium’s first big event was just around the corner. Not following?
Well maybe you’ll get the gist when I tell you that the arena, which also includes a state of the art football pitch among other world class facilities, is framed with the world’s first square running track!
With an imminent visit from senior members of the Communist Party, the construction team apparently ran out of time to calculate the correct curves for the track which resulted in this geometric faux pas.
The serious athletes amongst us will surely frown upon the thought of having to put the brakes on to negotiate the tight turns. Performances will suffer and risk of injury will increase. While it is a fascinating and eye opening construction, it is hard to see the square track catching on. Perhaps the construction crew should have just taken a hit by showing the visitors an unfinished stadium, before continuing to build a more functional facility.
