Construction of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center dates back to the 1960s. In 1994, the building of a new Vertical Assembly Building – China's first vertical assembly plant - began. For almost 30 years, the 93-meter 14,000-tonne plant has stood tall while being washed by sand in the Gobi Desert in northwest China. Not only has the structure had to withstand an extreme environment, the construction team also had to beat sand storms and extreme cold and heat –   surface temperatures at the construction site can be as low as 30 degrees Celsius below zero during winter and reach 70 degrees in the hot summer.