Goldin Finance 117, standing tall in Tianjin, China, was once set to be a beacon of modernity and wealth. Rising to a staggering 597 meters, it was designed to be the fifth tallest skyscraper globally and the jewel of the ambitious Goldin Metropolitan development, according to the construction website B1M.

However, more than a decade after its construction began in 2008, this once-promising landmark now stands as a ghostly reminder of an unfinished dream. With its towering 128 floors, Goldin Finance 117 has become the world’s tallest abandoned skyscraper and one of the most prominent eyesores in a city known for its rapid urbanisation.

Proposed during a time when Chinese cities were racing to assert their global stature, Goldin Finance 117 was conceived as a key element of billionaire Pan Sutong’s Goldin Metropolitan project. The development was meant to be an extravagant 1.8 square kilometre district, built to cater to the ultra-wealthy. It would feature high-end residential towers, luxurious French and Italian-style manors, a wine museum, gardens, and even a polo club.

At the heart of this scheme, Goldin Finance 117 was destined to house office spaces, luxury hotels, retail spaces, and high-end restaurants. Its designers envisioned the building as the epitome of architectural innovation, complete with the world’s highest observation deck, restaurant, pool, and sky bar. The tower’s bold shape – often likened to a walking stick – would stand as a symbol of opulence, an audacious testament to the city’s rapid ascent.

Despite reaching its full height in 2015, the tower’s construction was abruptly halted, and the site was left abandoned. By 2018, communication about the future of the project had ceased, and there has been no official announcement regarding its completion or even its potential repurposing. As time passed, Goldin Finance 117 became a stark symbol of unrealised ambition in the heart of Tianjin, a towering monument to excess and failure.

What was once intended to be a world-class building now stands as an imposing, unfinished structure. While the cause of the project’s abandonment remains unclear, there are speculations surrounding financial difficulties, mismanagement, or perhaps a shift in the developer’s priorities. Regardless of the reason, Tianjin now hosts what many consider the world’s tallest “ghostscraper.”

The Goldin Finance 117 skyscraper was designed to resist lateral forces, particularly earthquakes, which are common in the region. The building’s unique structure, with its 9.5:1 height-to-width ratio, was engineered to meet China’s seismic code. Yet, despite this, the project faced financial hurdles that prevented it from reaching completion. It’s possible that the building’s cost – which was expected to run into the billions – coupled with economic pressures, may have contributed to its untimely halt.

While other factors, such as changes in market demand or complications with the development, might have played a role, the central question remains: how did one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, with a booming construction industry, allow a colossal skyscraper to remain unfinished for years?

Goldin Finance 117 has become famous not just for its height but for its desolation, often attracting urban explorers and daredevils who climb its skeletal structure and document their ventures online. It’s a testament to the sometimes fragile nature of massive construction projects, where ambition can quickly be replaced by abandonment.

In a city that continues to push the boundaries of urban development, Goldin Finance 117 serves as a cautionary tale. Despite being a symbol of modern aspiration, it is now a relic of unrealised dreams and a stark reminder of the volatile nature of mega-projects in an ever-changing economic landscape.

Tourists should stay away from the Egyptian pyramids to send a message to abusers of animals, campaigners have warned. An investigation by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), found incidences of donkeys being whipped, beaten and left to die on the side of the road as it uncovered the dark side to the great wonder of the world.

PETA Asia Vice President Jason Baker said: “PETA has documented the routine punching, kicking, whipping, and starving of horses and camels at the pyramids. Animals are literally ridden to death and then dumped like rubbish outside the gate. The Pyramids of Giza should symbolise Egypt’s beauty and history — not unchecked animal abuse. The Egyptian government must act to remove these suffering animals from Giza.

“In the meantime, tourists must vote with their wallets and avoid these animal attractions at all costs.’”

The group’s covertly filmed footage shows animals who look under-nourished and in poor health being routinely kicked and beaten.

Another video shows an animal struggling to move before being abandoned in a pile of rubbish.

On several occasions, the remains of animals discarded at the side of the road can be seen.

The footage which has since gone viral comes as a Dutch expat Joke Van der Post punch an animal’s handler before chasing him with a whip.

After seeing an animal being cruelly treated, the veterinary practice manager grabs a whip from another handler as the man tries to run away.

The man later filed a police report leading to Ms Van der Post’s arrest for what the accuser calls “psychological harm”.

Ms Van der Post, who is married to an Egyptian and lives in Cairo, says that the abuse of animals is commonplace in the country.

Discussing the incident she said: “When I shouted to stop, I was called a w**** and the man laughed and then hit harder.

“I could probably get six months or a year in prison, or maybe even deportation. But if that means that something will finally change here, it was worth it.”

Ms Van der Post now uses her social media to call for action to prevent the practice of cruelty from continuing.

In a recent Instagram post she said: “The everyday scene of the donkey being whipped has gone viral, the world is watching and we have been given a platform and an opportunity to reach positive changes for the future.

“If we can stand Strong together our voices now will be heard, we can achieve a positive change for all animals in Egypt!!!!”

An international team of researchers, including experts from the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW), has uncovered incredible Medieval inscriptions hidden on the walls of the Cenacle, the traditional location of Jesus’s Last Supper. The Cenacle, also known as the Upper Room, is located in Mount Zion in Jerusalem, just outside the Old City walls.

According to the four canonical Gospels, the Last Supper occurred during the week of Passover, shortly after Palm Sunday (Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem) and before his crucifixion on Good Friday. During the meal, Jesus predicted that Peter would deny knowing him because of his betrayal by one of his apostles. This was also the site where Jesus washed his disciples’ feet. Now, a landmark study has uncovered overlooked and hidden inscriptions etched into the Cenacle’s centuries-old walls.

Over the centuries, the Cenacle has undergone cycles of destruction and reconstruction, until it eventually took on the Gothic Crusader-era structure that stands today.

Using advanced digital photography, researchers from the ÖAW, in collaboration with the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), have uncovered coats of arms and sketches alongside the hidden inscriptions.

The study, published in the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum, has identified coats of arms belonging to Tristram von Teuffenbach, a Styrian nobleman who was part of a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1436, led by Archduke Frederick of Habsburg, who later became the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III.

One of the inscriptions, written in a style typical of Armenian nobility, reads: “Christmas 1300”, lending weight to the theory that King Het’um II of Armenia reached Jerusalem following his army’s victory at the Battle of Wadi al-Khaznadar, also known as the Third Battle of Homs, when the Mongol triumphed over the Mamluks in December 1299.

An Arabic fragment, meanwhile, reads “…ya al-Ḥalabīya,” a phrase that references the Syrian city of Aleppo. Based on the double use of the feminine suffix “ya,” the researchers concluded that a female Christian pilgrim chiseled the words, an exciting and rare development in itself.

The Cenacle’s walls also have the names and symbols of medieval pilgrims from across Europe and the Middle East, including Johannes Poloner of Regensburg, who documented his journey from 1421 to 1422. A charcoal sketch of the Bernese patrician family Rümlingen’s coat of arms was also found.

“These graffiti shed new light on the geographical diversity and international pilgrimage movement to Jerusalem in the Middle Ages – far beyond the Western-dominated research perspective,” explained Ilya Berkovich, co-author of the ÖAW study.

According to the Bible, the Cenacle was also the site where the Holy Spirit alighted upon the twelve apostles on Pentecost (also Whitsun) celebrated on the 50th day of Easter. Its name is a derivative of the Latin word ceno, meaning “I dine”.