PoMo: Beijing simmering over 'the Egg'

"Egg" is not a flattering epithet in Chinese, being attached to various 
insults such as ben dan (stupid egg) and huai dan (rotten egg). (There 
is no "good egg" in Chinese slang.)

"Personally, I do not like the nickname 'the egg,' but everybody has a 
right to express his opinion," Deng Yijiang, vice president of the 
center, said during a recent Chinese New Year reception.

French architect Paul Andreu's design was selected in 1998 by the 
Standing Committee of the Politburo of the Communist Party's Central 
Committee, which decreed it would "contribute to the development of 
Chinese spiritual civilization, advanced social culture and harmonious 
society," according to an exhibit in the center's lobby.

Among the rejected proposals was a building resembling a clock radio and 
one that looked like a giant Snickers bar.

cont'd....
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-fg-egg24mar24,1,3769253,full.story