The Luban Award, founded in 1987 and named after the ancient master builder Lu Ban, is the highest award for construction quality in China. A winning project must show no quality defects or hidden risks after a year in use. Inspectors read the files and check the quality of the work on site.
The China Sports Museum, built for the Asian Games and completed in 1990, received a special Luban Award for Asian Games projects. Within 15 years it had become a dangerous building. Experts found that the wall mortar did not match the design and lacked the required strength. Work had started late and was rushed, but the building passed acceptance and opened in time for the Games.