Talk about recycling, In China, Meng Qingdong, the Nan Dazhang Cun village governor, has created a luxury hotel built completely out of shipping containers. His inspiration for the hotel was the 2011 Japanese earthquake. “The Japanese government imported shipping containers from China to build temporary houses for the [earthquake] survivors. It’s fast [to build] and [looks] good, and that inspired me to build the hotel.” Qingdong, said. The hotel spans around 5,000 square meters and has a total of 21 rooms. The name of the hotel has been named Xiang Xiang Xiang which stands for incense, container, and countryside

Eco-Pak is a company that is made up of Mathew Coates, a U.S. architect, and James Green, a British aircraft structural engineer. Eco-Pak has plans to change up the housing market.

“I think its advantages over traditional housing are quite profound. It's an excellent option for emergency housing” said Coates.  "The other thing is that it doesn't need a typical foundation. It can actually be put down right on the ground or on concrete blocks or pin piles," he said.

An empty part of Brooklyn Bridge Park has been converted into a photographic village made entirely out of shipping containers. Sam Barzilay, from United Photo Industries, is the producer behind the art show, “Photoville”.

This show is humungous with forty shipping containers, twenty- seven exhibits, food trucks, beer-garden, and area covering around 60,000 square feet. Some people might ask, “Why hold an art exhibit there?” The answer is quite simple; it’s an unused space that can be made for a greater purpose, like an art show.

Shipping containers have generally been made into affordable housing in the most recent trend of eco-friendly homes. However, this is not always the case. The Hamptons in New York is generally considered an area for the wealthy and celebrity, alike. Homes in the Hamptons can be anywhere up to $4 million and sometimes much more.

Real Estate professional Andrew Anderson, and his wife, Christie, have managed to create a eco-friendly shipping container home, and has come with a price tag of around $1.5 million. This “BeachBox” sits among mansions in Amangasett, New York.

It seems the uses for shipping containers are only limited to the imagination of the architect. In the past we have seen them built into condominiums, apartment buildings, flower shops, observatories, and in this case into an outdoor bar. The name of this building is the Section 8 Container Bar, set up in an old car park in Melbourne Australia’s Central Business District.

The Section 8 Container Bar is located away from main street, next to China town. In accordance with the theme of China town, Section 8 decided to utilize lanterns hanging overhead. They have also made a deal with neighboring Chinese restaurants so if someone were to just purchase a dumpling anywhere near, they are then allowed to dine in the Section 8 seating area.