In Philadelphia, most of the new construction we see these days consists of framed wood atop cement foundations. With taller buildings, we see steel and concrete. And every now and then, we see the occasional modular construction project, with sections of the building constructed beforehand and assembled onsite.
We can't speak for the typical construction methods in China- it's very much out of our realm of expertise. But we do know of a couple of buildings recently built by Winsun that used methods we've never seen before. According to an article from Cnet, this company has developed a proprietary technology to fabricate building materials using a 3D printer. Recently, they constructed an apartment building as well as a villa using this method, and those buildings are currently on display.
The process is somewhat similar to the way that modular homes are built, with large sections of each building produced at the Winsun facility and then put together at the construction site. To be clear, it's pretty much the walls that are printed, and then held together with steel and insulation. Windows, pipes, wires, and so forth are not printed but are added to the fabricated walls either at the facility or onsite. According to the manufacturer, developers save 60% on materials, 70% on time, and 80% on labor. Of course, all of this remains to be seen as this process is vetted and research determines whether it's a viable building method or simply a gimmick.
Still you gotta admit, it's a pretty cool concept.