The final steel beam has been placed on the Shanghai Tower, making it officially China’s tallest building.
Sky's the limit Image: Yhz1221 |
The Shanghai skyline has changed an almost unrecognisable amount in the last twenty years. The Liujiazui financial district is now home to three of the country’s tallest buildings: the Shanghai World Financial Centre, Jin Mao Tower and now the Shanghai Tower.
However, at 580 metres the epic skyscraper is far from done and will reach a soaring 632 metres by its scheduled completion date of 2015. The building will provide shopping, hotels, entertainment and offices for residents and visitors to Shanghai alike.
Not to be outdone, Zhongnan Group of Jiangsu province is planning to build a 700 metre-tall skyscraper in neighbouring Suzhou. Greenland Group is also planning a building which will exceed 600 metres in Wuhan and Changsha is still looking into building the 838 metre-high Sky City building.
Anyone that becomes tired of just looking at tall buildings can like to try the niche sport of vertical running. Recently, Beijing hosted the inaugural China World Summit Wing Hotel Vertical Run, which invited guests from all over the world to conquer Beijing’s tallest building by running up its stairs.
Runners raced up 82 floors and 2,041 stairs to win the coveted $1,000 prize, but in the end there was only one winner. German runner Thomas Bold managed to complete the race in just 9 minutes and 55 seconds, followed close behind by the winner in the women’s category, Australian Suzy Walsham, with a time of 11 minutes and 56 seconds.