That’s basically what has happened in the massive Regent International in China’s Qianjiang Century City – it was built to be a hotel, but those plans were abandoned and it’s now simply an enormous block of apartments, with an astonishing 20,000 people living there.

The Regent International is 675ft tall, making it a huge building, with an unusual S-shaped design.

Amazingly, those 20,000 residents haven’t even filled the building completely – its maximum capacity is around 30,000 people, so there’s room for another 10,000 to arrive.

spreephoto.de / Getty

Those are slightly mad numbers, and things become even more dystopian when you learn that the building houses a whole bunch of amenities so that these 20,000 people don’t have to actually ever leave.

There are shops embedded in the building, including a food court, nail salons, swimming pools, barbers, supermarkets and internet cafes.

This means that basically every need you might have should be available within the Regent International, making it a sort of town in a building (with a pretty chunky population compared to many towns, too).

For such a huge building, there aren’t that many ways to glimpse its interior, though – residents don’t seem to have posted much about it.

Instead, we’re reliant on scant social media clips that have emerged, including some pretty amazing exterior footage of the building’s sheer size captured by drone.

One TikTok creator did show a little of the building’s inside as she apparently made her way around it, although you only really get to glimpse the building’s foyer, rather than getting a real sense of the geography of its corridors.

Still, people in the comments under those videos are in awe at the scale of the building – one person wrote: “My town only allows for minimum 1/2 acre plots. My neighbors are still to close even with that. I could never live in that building.”

Another asked an ironic, but quite fair question: “If you work in that restaurant and live in the same building; are you working from home?”

Just think about it – could you happily live in a building of this size? After all, it’s one thing living in a mid-size apartment block, but quite another living in one of the most densely populated buildings you could possibly hope to find. Just think of how many neighbors you’d have!

The enormous building has been getting a lot of attention on social media in the last couple of weeks as drone footage showed off its sheer scale, with people getting their heads around the fact there are 20,000 residents in it (with room for 10,000 more).

TikTok user Yasmin – whose handle is @official_yasmin – took the bold step of actually going to the Regent International to have a peek inside.

As she enters, we get a glimpse of what looks like a really lavish entryway on the ground floor. This makes perfect sense, given the building was initially planned as a six-star hotel before it was turned into residential apartments.

The most interesting segment in the TikTok, though, comes right near the end, when Yasmin says there is a huge restaurant on the building’s 32nd floor. This is apparently open to all residents, although you do need to book into it.

That’s no surprise since it doubtless can’t feed 20,000 people at once – but we’re sure it’s still a massive space.

TikTok/ @yasminvroon

And the restaurant isn’t the only amenity in the building. If you wanted, you’d never even have to leave the Regent International – as it’s also stocked with supermarkets, nail salons, hairdressers, fitness centers and more.

The comments under Yasmin’s video are full of people trying to digest the size of the building, as you’d imagine, but there are some funny observations.

One comment asked: “If you work in that restaurant and live in the same building; are you working from home?”

And people can’t get over the scale of it all, with another observing: “My whole town fits in there with 10 thousand people to spare and literally rn as many people as my town live there.”

The Regent International is indeed seriously large, but it’s surprisingly affordable if you wanted to join the 20,000 people there right now – you can get a small apartment for as little as $210 (albeit one without windows).

The gigantic complex is home to around 20,000 inhabitants currently, however, it can hold a maximum capacity of 30,000.

If you’ve managed to miss the headlines, the building is called the Regent International and it’s located in Qianjiang Century City, Hangzhou’s central business district, in China.

But, just how much are the residents paying for rent in this vertical housing block?

Smaller blocks cost around 1,500 RMB ($220) per month to rent / @‌yasminvroon/TikTok

According to a report by the Chinese news agency Sina, smaller apartments without windows typically rent for about 1,500 RMB ($220) per month.

Whilst, 4,000 RMB ($550) per month would give you a large apartment with a balcony, a bonus if you wanted some fresh air from your room.

Moreover, the major perk of renting in this building is that you never have to go outside. Everything the residents need is spread across the 260,000 square meters of space and 36 to 39 floors, depending on which side you’re on.

All the amenities such as swimming pools, barber shops, nail salons, medium-sized supermarkets, internet cafes and a massive food court are all under one roof. It’s basically a small town condensed into a massive building.

Changsha-based construction company, The Broad Group, said the novel housing would be capable of keeping at least 2,000 cars off of the city streets by creating an all-inclusive environment that no one needs to leave.

A major perk of renting in this building is that you never have to go outside / @fatheristheone/TikTok

The prices cater quite well to the type of tenants that live there.

The colossal building primarily mainly attracts graduates along with soon-to-be graduates. Additionally, many young working professionals like influencers and small business owners also take up a fair share of the building’s tenancy.

Originally intended to be a boutique six-star hotel, the iconic building started gaining online attention when recorded drone footage of the building was shared across social media.

Viewers have been amazed by the enormous size of the structure, the number of residents it accommodates, and the claustrophobic lifestyle.

Some TikTok influencers have taken it upon themselves to share the glamourous inside of the Regent International, briefly showing some facilities like the vast restaurant.

While some may find the idea of this type of living daunting, some authorities see China’s approach as a step toward more sustainable living. These vertical blocks are hoped to be a solution to China’s housing crisis and create a more efficient way of living.