Khan Shatyr what is there. Entertainment in the Khan Shatyr shopping center. Where is the shopping center "Khan Shatyr"

The Khan Shater entertainment center in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, is an architectural project that is billed as the world's largest marquee. The "tent" is made of transparent material and rests on a network of cables stretched from a central spire 150 meters high. The 200-meter elliptical dome base covers an area of ​​140,000 square meters. The space under the tent is larger than 10 football stadiums, contains an indoor park, a variety of shops and entertainment venues, a river for boat rides, a shopping centre, mini golf and a man-made seaside resort. The transparent material allows sunlight to pass through, which, together with air heating and cooling systems, maintains a comfortable internal temperature between 15–30 °C, while the outdoor temperature varies between -35 and 35 °C throughout the year.

To prevent condensation in winter, three transparent layers of special EFTE transparent fabric are used to channel warm air. In summer, cooled air is supplied there, which is well ventilated through special openings. Thanks to its transparency, during the daytime the interior space is illuminated exclusively by sunlight. In the dark, the tent itself is visible from afar, since due to internal lighting the light softly filters through the dome.


Opened in 2010 by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Khan Shatyr has been described as the “latest vanity project” of Kazakhstan's increasingly autocratic president (The Guardian).



Nazarbayev moved the capital of Kazakhstan to the isolated northern city from Almaty in 1998 and named it Astana, which literally means "capital". On the tenth anniversary of the capital's move, the president signed a decree declaring July 6 Astana Day. The name "Khan Shatyr" roughly translates as "tent of the khan or king."


And here is the artificial resort mentioned above. Of course, it is not as large as a tropical island under a dome in Germany, but it is also very cozy and comfortable.










Khan Shatyr (Khan's Tent), designed by the famous British architect Lord Norman Foster, is one of the most recognizable buildings in Astana. This is the largest tented structure in the world, the height of which reaches 150 meters.

The outer walls of the complex consist of a special translucent plastic stretched over hundreds of metal cables. 650 climbers from seven countries took part in the installation of the structure. The five floors of the Tent of Khan are illuminated by natural sunlight, and at night there are fantastic lighting.

Transparent walls add additional charm to the year-round resort area on the 4th floor, where the water park pools and sandy beach with real plants are located. There is also a SPA center and entertainment area.

On weekends, Khan Shatyr can be visited by about 30 thousand people at the same time. It is located in the center of New Astana, which is also called the “Millennium Axis”. From here you have a magnificent view of the city.

The shops

  • Grocery hypermarket GREEN - minus 1 floor
  • Debenhams Department Store - 2nd floor
  • ZARA - 1st floor
  • NewYorker - 2nd floor

Shopping gallery

GAP, Reebok, Adidas, Nike, Trussardi, Finn Flare, Orchestra, Yves Rocher, L"Occitane, Bershka, Next, Pull&Bear, Timberland, Springfield, Cortifiel, Tween Damat, Climber, Colin"s, O"Stin, LTB, Lacoste , Vero Moda, Jack Jones, Intertop, Mondian, Swarovsky, Steve Madden, Nine West, Baldinini, Geox, Clarks, Ramsey, Celio, Carlo Pazolini, Women" Secret, La Senza, Berghoff, LC Waikiki, Ecco, Glamour, Motivi, Respect, Elite eBrends, Spring.

Entertainment area

  • Multiplex Star Cinema - 2nd floor
  • Entertainment center Cosmo - 4th floor
  • Beach Resort Sky Beach Club
  • SPA & Wellness center
  • Food court, restaurants and cafes

City buses No. 20, 32, 35, 43, 46 go to the shopping center.

The tent, as a temporary structure, has been known since Biblical times. Jabal, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob lived in tents, and during the Israelites' wanderings in the desert, life also took place in this type of temporary dwelling. The tent has long been considered a symbol of nomadic life, as many nomads of Asia and North Africa use it to this day, and it is an integral part of everyday life. From the Turkic languages, the word tent is translated as “roof”, and for many peoples who have left their original culture, tents remain an important milestone in the history of their forefathers. For example, in Kazakhstan they decided to pay tribute to this type of housing by building a large shopping and entertainment center Khan Shatyr in the form of a huge tent.

As of today, Khan Shatyr is the largest tent in the world. Opened in July 2010, in the capital of Kazakhstan, Astana, the building has become a new symbol of the city, as well as the largest shopping center in the country. The main idea when creating such a building was to translate into reality a place where citizens could spend their leisure time and take a break from everyday life, since Astana is also the business center of the country.

Khan Shatyr got its name not by chance. The fact is that some sources claim that the name means “Khan’s Tent,” however, but in fact the name of the complex is defined as “Khan of Tents,” that is, the main one among the tents, by analogy with the Tsar Cannon or the Tsar Bell in Moscow .

Khan Shatyr was built over 4 years, in 2006-2010. The British architectural company Foster and Partners was involved in the construction of the building, known for such unusual projects as the Mary Ax skyscraper (London Gherkin), Hong Kong International Airport, Commerzbank Tower in the center of Frankfurt am Main. The author of the project was the British architect, laureate of the Imperial and Pritzker Prizes, honorary member of the Russian Academy of Arts Baron Norman Foster.


After the opening of the building in 2010, Forbes Style magazine included Khan Shatyr in the list of the world's 10 best environmental buildings. What is characteristic is that this is the only building from the entire CIS that was included in the hit parade of the best architectural solutions. Khan Shatyr is considered an eco-building due to its external coating, from the German company Vector Foiltec, which has a special chemical composition that protects the space of the complex from sudden temperature changes and creates a favorable microclimate inside the building. This coating allows sunlight to pass through, which, combined with air circulation inside the building, creates a temperature of up to +30°C in the main room, and up to +24°C in the departments.

Khan Shatyr has a total area of ​​127 thousand m², which can accommodate about 15 football fields. The tent's spire reaches a height of 150 meters, which is equivalent to a 50-story skyscraper. The base of the tent is elliptical, with dimensions of 200 by 195 meters. The building is constructed from a network of steel cables, on which a transparent polymer coating is fixed. The cable network is attached to a steel tripod, which weighs up to 635 tons. The weight of the network, fastenings, spire and the coating itself is 1.76 thousand tons, and the reinforcement and concrete base is 432 thousand tons. Khan Shatyr cost the owners 400 million US dollars.

Inside the complex there are shopping and entertainment departments, a supermarket, a park, cafes and restaurants, cinemas, gyms, a water park, office space and parking for 700 cars, but the main highlight is still a sandy beach with a tropical climate and plants, in which the temperature is maintained year-round + 35°C. What’s most interesting is that the sand for this recreation area was brought directly from the Maldives.

Khan Shatyr was opened in July 2010 and dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev. The opening ceremony was accompanied by a concert by world performer, Italian tenor of classical music Andrea Bocelli. The ceremony was attended by the President of Russia, the President of Ukraine, the President of Turkey, the President of Belarus, the President of Armenia, the President of Tajikistan, the President of Kyrgyzstan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Muhammad bin Zayed al-Nahyan, and King Abdullah II of Jordan.

“Khan Shatyr” fits harmoniously into the urban architecture of the capital. Many technologies and materials used in the construction of the complex are the latest developments in the field of construction and have not been used anywhere in the world before. The unique shell of the tent covering the building makes it possible to maintain a microclimate that is comfortable for humans inside, even if snowstorms and frosts are raging outside. Inside the building there are special stepped terraces planted with plants from different climatic zones of our planet. There is an observation deck on the topmost terrace, which offers a magnificent view of the winter gardens. In the center of the building there is a large area intended for holding various exhibitions and entertainment attractions.

On an area of ​​41 thousand square meters. m. there are all kinds of shopping pavilions, cafes, restaurants, cinemas. In addition to retail and service businesses, there are beauty salons and modern fitness centers. The tropical water garden and artificial lagoon are especially attractive to visitors. On its shore, a magnificent beach of snow-white sand has been recreated, which was specially brought from the distant islands of the Maldives archipelago. The lagoon is formed by several interconnecting pools, and artificially created waves splash on the surface of one of them. Here, at any time of the year, you can feel like you are at one of the Mediterranean resorts, without experiencing the difficulties of a tiring flight.

This building is incredibly different from most buildings not only in Astana, but also in many large cities in Kazakhstan and Russia. A very detailed National Geographic film in the “Superstructures” series talks about the stages of construction of a giant tent. Here are short excerpts from this film:

  • The construction of this fifty-story skyscraper, whose walls contain air, was carried out under very unfavorable conditions. Kazakhstan is a country where it is +40 in summer and -40 in winter.
  • The unique building was supposed to allow residents and guests of the city to find themselves on a warm beach even in the midst of severe frosts. The radical architect, Englishman Sir Norman Foster, was ready to carry out such a project. The developer was the Turkish company Sembol Insaat, and its problem solver Selami Gurel did a lot to make up for the two years behind schedule.
  • This building has no underground floors. This solved two problems - the unstable marshland and the economic one. Therefore, the underground parking, located on the “zero” level, is actually located on the first floor of the building. There is a hypermarket on the same floor.
  • Initially, it was planned to complete the construction in just one year, but the construction of the tent dragged on for 4 years - having started in 2006, Khan Shatyr was opened to visitors only in July 2010.
  • The first layout of the giant tent was without tilt. However, the largest buildings in Astana are aligned along the central axis, so Khan Shatyr had to be tilted by 15º. For stability, they decided to use not just one axle, but a tripod - made up of three axles, each of which is about 150 meters long and weighs 2 thousand tons. They end in a node structure that helps distribute the load throughout the structure.
  • Lifting the substructure on a tripod and their final installation took a week.
  • The surface of the tent was assembled from 836 transparent “pillows” - this is an ETFE polymer coating. Each of them was of a unique size and had to be installed in a strictly defined place, otherwise the surface of the tent would not have taken its shape. The result was a “puzzle” with an area of ​​more than 20 thousand m2. Their installation took place in severe frosts, so some installers risked their lives to build the innovative project.

This eco-friendly building was included in the top 10 eco-buildings around the world according to Forbes Style. Moreover, it became the only representative of the CIS.


Shopping and entertainment center "Khan Shatyr"- one of the architectural landmarks of Kazakhstan. It is famous, first of all, for the fact that it is a huge transparent tent with an area of ​​127 thousand square meters, which has no equal in the whole world. Secondly, “Khan Shatyr” is the only eco-building in the CIS that was included in the top ten best eco-buildings in the world in the Forbes Style magazine ranking.


Inside the Khan Shatyr complex is a real paradise. There is everything for a family holiday: cafes and restaurants, gyms and swimming pools, playgrounds and parks. The highlight of the shopping and entertainment center is a real beach resort! The temperature in Khan Shatyr is maintained at +35 degrees all year round; tropical plants and sandy beaches create the atmosphere of a real fairy tale.



The giant tent organically complemented the architectural ensemble of the main square of Astana. During the day, the transparent tent serves as an excellent landmark for city residents, and at night its dome turns into a beacon, flashing with multi-colored lights.


The Khan Shatyr complex was opened in 2010. President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev called this project one of the most daring and modern architectural solutions. Literally, “Khan Shatyr” is translated into Russian as “tent of the khan, or king.” Let us recall that Nazarbayev has led Kazakhstan since the country gained independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. By a parliamentary decision in 2007, his presidential powers were extended indefinitely.

Despite the implementation of this large-scale eco-project (as already noted, “Khan Shatyr” is one of the best eco-buildings in the world), we should not forget that the main environmental problem of Kazakhstan is, of course,