One of world’s tallest skyscrapers unveiled in rural 'village'

One of the world’s tallest skyscrapers has been built in a rural Chinese village, hundreds of miles away from any other commercial hubs.

The 74-story Longxi International Hotel towers stands 328 meters stands above the village of Huaxi, Eastern China, costing 3 billion yuan (£303 million) to build.

The bizarre structure was unveiled on Saturday to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the founding of China’s richest village.

Huaxi is located in east China's Jiangsu province and has expanded rapidly over recent years. The  population has soared from 1,600 in the 1960s to an estimated 50,000 today

The population of the former poor farming community is made up of 2,000 registered families, about 20 000 migrant workers and 30 000 from neighbouring villages.

[Travel guide:China]

Despite the large population, Chinese officials still class Huaxi as a village.

The bizarre World Cup trophy-shaped building, which has been ranked the 15th tallest building in the world, surpasses the Eiffel Tower and New York’s Chrysler building. It can hold up to 3,000 people and has an exhibition hall, rooftop swimming pools and gardens.

Huaxi has become the first rural area on the planet to have its very own skyscraper as a symbol of wealth.

[Gallery: World's tallest buildings in photos]

Former party secretary Wu Renbao told China Daily: “No other village has one, and 3,000 people can work there. The next five years is critical, we are going to go from village to city.”

One of the main purposes of the skyscraper is to relieve pressure on the surrounding village which has limited land resources.