English designer Thomas Alexander Heatherwick is mapping a large construction site in Shanghai which will surely make people stop and stare. /VCG Photo

The site consists of 1,000 columns at different heights, with over 400 open-air terraces supporting well-arranged plants atop the columns. Some netizens said it  will be like the Hanging Gardens of Babylon that came into life. /VCGPhoto

According to London-based Heatherwick Studio, the project located at Shanghai’s main art district, M50, is called “1000 Trees”. / VCG Photo   

Conceived not as a building but as a piece of topography, the project is going to create a new 300,000 square meter mixed-use development within a residential zone. /VCG Photo

Thomas Heatherwick, 47, emerged in late 1990s as one of the most significant designers in UK. He designed 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics cauldron and the UK Pavilion featured in Shanghai Expo 2010.   This magnificent development he projected in Shanghai will be finished in 2018. / VCG Photo