One Beijing-based billionaire has splashed out a record $500,000 on 27 bottles of red wine, London-based Antique Wine Company said on Saturday.

The anonymous Chinese entrepreneur bought a mix of vintages of Romanee Conti, a Burgundy wine and considered to be among the world’s most exclusive with only 450 cases produced each year.[...]

“It is the highest price that has ever been achieved for a single lot,” Managing Director Stephen Williams of the London- based Antique Wine Company told Reuters on Saturday.

“I don’t think he has bought this as an investment — he has bought it to drink,” he added. “The fine wine industry is completely immune from the global credit crunch.”

The latest product to tie in to the Beijing Olympics coming up this august is the Voila Beijing Dream. The elaborated cage like design of the watch mimics the National Stadium (also called the Birds Nest) that will hold the opening and closing ceremonies for the 2008 Olympics.

The watch is available with a stainless steel or gold plated case with a strap of Chinese silk brocade. It comes set with .23 carats of diamonds or .72 carats and prices range from 1,490 to 2,190 euros.

China will launch “the most luxurious train in the world” to ply the route from Beijing to Tibet’s capital Lhasa, state media reported Sunday.

However, a ride on the train, which will begin operations on September 1, will be about 20 times more expensive than the ordinary fare of about 2,000 yuan (280 dollars), Xinhua news agency said.

“The interior of the train will be decorated according to the standards of a five-star hotel, making it the most luxurious train in the world,” said Zhu Mingrui, general manager of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway Corporation.” Such a train can only seat 96 passengers.

China has officially taken the wrapping off its National Aqautics Center, nicknamed the “Water Cube”, which resembles a gigantic box of bubble-wrap. Designed by a joint Chinese-Australian consortium, the center is one of two iconic structures constructed for the Beijing Olympics this year. It stands alongside the 91,000 seater National Stadium, more affectionately known as “Bird’s Nest”. Work on the Water Cube began at the end of 2003 at an estimated cost of US$100 million, and took three years to complete.

The honeycomb structure will host the swimming, diving and synchronized swimming, and water-polo events during the Games. The 17,000 seater Cube is expected to offer spectators a visual spectacle at night, when its LED system of 16.7 million tones transforms the structure into a glowing kaleidoscope.

Source : dezeen

Obviously, construction technologies are advancing extremely quickly. couple that with multi-billionnaires / deep-pocketed companies trying to outdo each other in the quest for the next standout design and you have a near-future filled with mile-high skyscrapers and buildings that no longer look like buildings.

below are 9 strange and unique structures which have either been approved or are in the final stages of approval. some have already been partially constructed.

welcome to the future landscape.

1. aqua, usa (website)