Located on the southern shore of the Pearl River estuary, the Greater Bay Area Cultural and Sports Center is a signature urban complex under the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area initiative. Occupying the island tip south of the 21st Yong in Wanqingsha Town, Nansha District, Guangzhou, the site faces the Lingding Sea and sits at the geometric heart of the Bay Area. Formerly known as the Guangzhou Nansha Public Cultural and Sports Complex, the project was officially handed over for operations this June.
Designed around the concept “A fan welcomes guests from afar; a bright pearl illuminates the land,” the center stretches along the mouth of the Pearl River, integrating sports competition, cultural performances and eco-leisure into one super-landmark for the Greater Bay Area. As a core venue for the 15th National Games in 2025, it is charged with driving the integrated development of culture and sport across the region.
Project name: Greater Bay Area Cultural and Sports Center
Site area: 700,000 m²
Total construction area: 298,000 m²
Client: Guangzhou Key Public Construction Project Management Center
Design team: Zaha Hadid Architects & Guangdong Provincial Architectural Design and Research Institute
General contractors: China Construction Third Engineering Bureau, China Construction Eighth Engineering Division
Façade contractors: China Construction Shenzhen Decoration Co., Ltd., Guangzhou Jianghe Curtain Wall System Engineering Co., Ltd.
Aluminium profiles: Guangdong Haomei New Materials Co., Ltd.
As a flagship project of Guangdong Province, the center’s core facilities are world-class.
The 60,000-seat stadium takes the layered roof of a traditional silk folding fan as its muse, rising 63.8 m and cantilevering up to 62.5 m. A 145-m-wide “sea-view window” on the east side frames the Lingding Sea so spectators can watch elite sport and ocean vistas in a single gaze.
The 20,000-seat arena switches from ice sheet to basketball court in hours, hosting NBA, NHL and more than twenty other top-tier international events.
The 4,000-seat aquatics center houses four FINA-standard pools, covering every aquatic discipline from diving to water polo.
The complex’s fluid, sail-like silhouette echoes Lingnan’s historic trading junks—an audacious form made possible by the premium aluminium profiles supplied by Guangdong Haomei New Materials.
Today the landmark has already hosted its first events—from the Guangdong Football Super League to the Diving Champions Exhibition—proving its credentials on the world stage.
With high-performance aluminium profiles from Guangdong Haomei New Materials, the very fabric of the building becomes the bridge between sculptural beauty and day-to-day utility, silently bearing witness to the rise of culture and sport in the Greater Bay Area.