Arup is one of the largest and most successful international business, planning and design consultancies in the world with around 10,000 staff working in over 70 countries through 90 permanent offices. This worldwide network of offices enables the company to provide global expertise, combined with local knowledge.

Sir Ove Arup founded the practice in 1946. Being in 'Trust Ownership', Sir Ove's ideals and principles are as much a driving force now as they were in his lifetime. Foremost among these are the belief in 'total planning and design' - the integration of the planning, design, operations and construction processes, the interdependence of all professionals involved and the value of innovation.

Arup has a long track record of work in the People's Republic of China, beginning in the late 1970s, and this has led it to open several regional offices - first in Shenzhen (1995) and expanding to Shanghai (1996), Beijing (2001), Guangzhou (2006), Wuhan (2007) and Tianjin (2008), bringing its total resident staff in China to over 500.

The company has worked on more than 500 projects in China including sports venues, skyscrapers, airports, bridges, highways and railways and was engaged as engineers for some major Olympic projects including the National Stadium (Bird's Nest), the National Aquatics Centre (Water Cube), Beijing Capital International Airport Terminal 3 major Ecocity master planning exercises and the CCTV Headquarters.