Rong Baisheng

Rong Baisheng (; 27 August 1930 – 11 May 2019) was a Chinese architect and civil engineer. A pioneer in skyscraper design and construction in China, he was elected an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering in 1995. His works include the Guangdong International Building, which was China's tallest building when completed in 1990, and the Shenzhen Shangri-La Hotel.

Early life and education Rong was born on 27 August 1930 in Guangzhou, Guangdong, Republic of China, with his ancestral home in Nanping, Zhuhai. His father was in the military, and the family became refugees during the Second Sino-Japanese War. He was frequently on the run with his mother and siblings to evade Japanese occupation. In 1952, when the Communist government reorganized China's higher education according to the Soviet model, Lingnan's engineering departments became part of the newly established South China Institute of Technology (now South China University of Technology), and Rong was a member of the first class that graduated from the university in July 1953. From January 1958 to January 1972, he taught for 14 years at the Guangdong Provincial Architecture and Engineering School. He returned to the Guangdong Provincial Architectural Design and Research Institute in 1972. It won a National Design Gold Medal, the Zhan Tianyou Civil Engineering Award, and the State Science and Technology Progress Award (Second Class). Recognized as a pioneer in skyscraper design and construction in China, Rong was elected an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering in 1995.

Personal life Rong died in Guangzhou, China on 11 May 2019, at the age of 88.