Shanghai Tower | An Architectural Wonder

Shanghai Tower stands as the pride of China. If you visit Shanghai it is a must travelling place. It is one of the tallest skyscraper buildings in the world. Its position is third now. Burj Khalifa in Dubai (828 meters ) holds the first position. Merdeka 118 in Malaysia ( 679 meters) is in second position and Shanghai Tower holds third position ( 632 meters). Shanghai Tower is a property of the Shanghai city Government.

The world’s highest observation deck and the world’s fastest elevators that goes at 73.8km an hour belong to the Shanghai Tower. According to Wikipedia, it is the largest and tallest LEED Platinum-certified building in the world since 2015.

Shanghai Tower

Shanghai Chengtou Corporation, Shanghai Lujiazui Finance & Trade Zone Development Co. Ltd combined venture is Skyscraper Shanghai Tower. It is developed by Shanghai Construction Group Shareholding Co. Ltd. It has become a landmark of the financial service industry in China. The main building has 128 floors above ground and 5 floors underground, the total height is 632 meters and the structural height is 580 meters. Shanghai Tower is not only an architectural wonder but also a vivid embodiment of China’s modernization process. The tower’s transparent, spiral design highlights advanced sustainable strategies and public spaces, setting new benchmarks for green communities.

Shanghai Tower holds the first position of the world’s highest observation deck. It is located at a height of 561.3 meters (1841 ft).

Shanghai Tower Sky View

The Shanghai Tower’s Observation Deck is located on the 118th, 119th, 125th, and 126th floors, of which the 118th and 119th floors are open to tourists as the main sightseeing floors, with heights of 546 meters and 552 meters respectively. Visitors can enjoy the beautiful scenery of downtown Shanghai and the scenery on both sides of the Huangpu River on the sightseeing.

Here you will get a small guide to the Shanghai Tower Observation Deck with location, transportation, building overview, recommended attractions, and precautions. 

You can learn some relevant knowledge in advance so that you can better visit and understand each attraction.

In short, Shanghai Tower is a very worthwhile attraction to visit, not only for its unique architectural style and magnificent landscape but also for its rich tourist projects and food culture. Knowing detailed information about the tower can help you to better understand and experience the glory of the Shanghai Tower.

The most attractive Shanghai Tower stands in the heart of the Lujiazui Financial Zone in Shanghai’s Pudong New Area, it is adjacent to the Shanghai World Financial Center. It is located in a great geographical location and a developed transportation system. From Lujiazui Station Metro Line 2 or Lujiazui Ring Road is very close to The Shanghai Tower only 5 minutes walking distance.

Shanghai Tower is a giant and tremendous landmark skyscraper building that is used for offices and business purposes like exhibition hall, hotel, and sightseeing. The building is 632 meters high and has 128 floors, 5 floors underground. The most spectacular places of Shanghai Tower are the observation decks. They are located on the 118th, 119th, 125th and 126th floors. The 118th and 119th floors are open to tourists as the main sightseeing floors, with a height of 546 meters and 552 meters respectively. Special sightseeing areas are 125th and 126th floors providing visitors with an extraordinary, marvelous view from the height of 580 meters and 583 meters.

Building style

Energy saving and environmental protection

The shape of the “Shanghai Tower” meets the need for energy conservation. It breaks away from the traditional external structural frame of high-rise buildings and uses a rotating, asymmetrical external facade to reduce wind load by 24%, reducing the wind load on the building structure and saving construction costs. At the same time, compared with traditional linear buildings, the internal circular facade of the “Shanghai Tower” reduces its glare by 14% and reduces energy consumption.

From Shanghai Tower’s first-floor ticket office, visitors need to buy tickets. Ticket prices may change according to different sightseeing floors and activities. After buying tickets, travelers need to go through the security check to enter the building. The elevator in the Shanghai Tower Observation Deck is high-speed and can take visitors to the observation deck in a very short time.

The visitor should strictly follow all the instructions for finding the elevator entrance so the visiting hour is more enjoyable and hassle-free. After reaching the sightseeing floor visitors can easily enjoy the spectacular of downtown Shanghai and the stunning scenery on both sides of the Huangpu River. The 118th and 119th floors have indoor observation decks and outdoor landscape balconies where visitors can take photographs. At the same time, these two floors also have facilities of leisure dining areas and souvenir shops where visitors can rest and shop.

High-speed elevator for an easy and comfortable tour

The Shanghai Tower’s express elevators designed by Mitsubishi Company take passengers to the sky lobby of the tower. This type of elevator uses a pressurized cabin design and a converter that can generate electricity, reducing energy consumption by 30%. The skyscraper will be equipped with 106 elevators, including 7 double-decker elevators. The express elevators that can reach the 119th-floor observation deck can reach a speed of 18 meters per second and reach the 119th-floor observation deck of the Shanghai Tower in 55 seconds. If it goes down the speed reaches 10 meters per second and it will reach the first floor in 70 seconds. There are three such ultra-high-speed observation elevators.

Evacuation elevator

1 elevator goes directly from the 1st floor to the 89th floor, 2 elevators go from the 89th floor to the 96th floor, and 3 elevators go from the 96th floor to the 100th floor. There are also 13 passenger elevators for a safe evacuation, serving 4 different refuge floors, of which 3 are double-deck shuttle elevators from the first floor to the 89th floor (only the lower floor elevator is used for evacuation in case of fire), 2 are single-deck shuttle elevators from the first floor to the 78th floor, 4 are double-deck shuttle elevators from the second floor to the 54th floor (only the upper floor elevator is used for evacuation in case of fire) and 4 are double-deck shuttle elevators from the first floor to the 30th floor (only the lower floor elevator is used for evacuation in case of fire). The elevators for auxiliary evacuation are designed with fireproof, smokeproof and waterproof functions, a two-way power supply and a fire alarm system installed in the elevator machine room. Normally these elevators are shuttle elevators. In the event of a fire, the automatic fire alarm system will cause the shuttle elevators to make an emergency landing on the first or second floor of the building. Specially trained fire safety officers (elevator operators) will drive them to the refuge floor where rescue is needed to evacuate people.

Evacuation facilities

In addition to smokeproof stairwells and their antechambers, the refuge facilities of super high-rise buildings also include refuge floors, refuge areas, refuge rooms and refuge squares. There are safe places for people to escape the threat of smoke and flames in case of fire. They mainly provide temporary refuge for the elderly, the young, the weak, the sick and the disabled who have difficulty in moving and provide a breathing space for normal people during vertical evacuation.

For enthusiastic travelers; who have an unquenchable thirst for sightseeing there are special sightseeing areas on the 125th and 126th floors of Shanghai Tower. These two floors are higher and offer a wider view but they also require additional tickets. In addition, these two floors will also host activities such as top art exhibitions and audio-visual performances, providing visitors with a rich cultural and entertainment experience.

In the Shanghai Tower, visitors can also visit the Guanfu Museum created by collector Ma Weidu and other leisure and entertainment venues to learn about Chinese traditional culture and fine art. In addition, the building will also hold various exhibitions and activities, and visitors can choose to participate according to their interests.

Some of the sights worth noting when visiting the Shanghai Tower Observation Deck are given below:

1. Panoramic view of downtown Shanghai: You can overlook the beautiful scenery of entire downtown Shanghai if you stand on the observation deck of the Shanghai Tower. Also, you can see the high-rise buildings, bustling streets and historical buildings.

2. Scenery on both sides of the Huangpu River: From the sightseeing floor, you can enjoy the scenery on both sides of the Huangpu River, including the Bund, the Oriental Pearl Tower and other famous attractions.

3. Peak art exhibitions and audio-visual performances: In the special tourist area, you can enjoy wonderful activities such as peak art exhibitions and audio-visual performances, and experience the perfect combination of art and technology.

4. Guanfu Museum and other leisure and entertainment venues.

A small specification of some of Shanghai Tower floors for visitors.

128th floor                            Mechanical layer 9

125th –127th floor                  Concert hall

                                             Exhibition Hall

121st floor                           “Top of Shanghai” observation deck

120th floor                              J Hotel Shanghai Tower

                                              Heavenly Jin Restaurant

118th & 119th floor                Observation deck

111th – 115th floor                  Boutique floors

110th floor                            VIP Business Center

105th floor                            J Hotel Soirée Ballroom

104th floor                            Kinnjyou Inaka Japanese Restaurant

103rd floor                            Jin Yan Chinese Restaurant

102nd floor                             Office Zone

101st floor                           Lobby Lounge, Italian Restaurant Centouno

86th  –98th floor                   Presidential Suite, Deluxe Rooms

85th floor                              Spa, Fitness Center

84th floor                              Swimming pool, Yi Lounge

68th & 69th floor                 Sky lobby

37th & 38th floor                    Sky lobby

22nd & 23rd floor                    Sky lobby

5th floor                                Conference Center

3rd & 4th floor                       Shops and restaurants

2nd floor                                Shanghai Center Grand Ballroom, Boutique                                         

                                             Office Lobby, shops and restaurants

1st floor                                Shops and restaurants, Office lobby, hotel

                                              lobbies

B1                                         Sightseeing Floor entrance, shops and

                                             restaurants 

B2                                         Subway station entrance, shops and

                                             restaurants

B3–B5                                   Mechanical layer with parking, hotel logistics,   cargo handling areas.

A small detail about some of the floors of Shanghai Tower from my experience of visiting Shanghai Tower.

37th floor: Guanfu Museum:

In the Shanghai Tower, you can visit the Guanfu Museum and other leisure and entertainment venues to learn about Chinese traditional culture and art. Guanfu Museum is a private museum founded by the  Mr. Ma Weidu. The exhibition hall is not large (after all, it is a private museum and cannot be compared with local or national museums), but the environment is elegant and the layout is reasonable.

4 fixed exhibition halls in Shanghai Tower: Porcelain Hall, Statue Hall, Gold Hall and a temporary exhibition hall. I personally like the Gold Hall and Statue Hall the most.

Ticket: 100 yuan, half price for seniors, students, and teachers.

Visiting time: 1.5-2 hours

38th floor: Baoku Craftsmanship Hall is all Baoku’s, consisting of three theme exhibition halls, 28 master spaces, and a multi-functional hall. The exhibits cover nine major craft categories such as sculpture, ceramics, weaving, and embroidery, and fully display the rich and profound Chinese arts and crafts culture and intangible cultural heritage art culture.

Go to another floor with the invisible stamp on your hand.

Ticket: 80 yuan, half price for seniors, students and teachers.

Visiting time: 1.5-2 hours

52nd floor: Duoyun Academy ‘s:

Chinese-style “Landscape and Secret Realm”, one black, one white, one south, and one north, each with its own characteristics. From the Cape of Good Hope, you can overlook the excellent scenery. The south corner overlooks the Huangpu River, and the north corner faces the Jinmao Tower. Look up at the clouds and look down at the books.

The entrance to the academy is in the office building of Shanghai Tower. There will be clear and clear signs on the ground floor of the building. You will get a light blue book card after showing the reservation code and health code and then line up in the building and wait for the staff to lead you to the elevator directly to the 52nd floor. When you exit from the elevator, you will be in the bookstore and hand over the book card to the staff.

118th floor: The best time to visit the Shanghai Summit Observation Deck is before sunset. You can see the night view from the sunset. The floor-to-ceiling large transparent glass windows (although a bit dirty) provide a 360-degree panoramic view. You can overlook the Oriental Pearl Tower, Jinmao Tower, Shanghai World Financial Center from a close distance, and the Bund, Hongqiao Airport, etc. from a distance. The most beautiful night view of the Magic City is unobstructed.

In addition, The Oriental Pearl Tower starts to light up at 6 pm (7 pm in summer).  

For lunch, there are restaurants of various prices in the building, you can search by yourself. For affordable prices, I recommend the Food Republic on the B2 floor, which has many choices. Or go to the Cape of Good Hope in Duoyun Academy and order a simple meal.

The following is arranged in order of floors. You can adjust the order freely according to the actual situation. You can go to Duoyun Academy first because the entrances are different. In addition: except for the escalator between the 37th and 38th floors, the elevators in other places are not the same. Basically, you have to go back to the first floor and transfer again.

Some special notes for visitors to make the tour remarkable

There are some things to note when visiting the Shanghai Tower. First, due to the large flow of people, it is recommended to book tickets in advance and pay attention to safety. Secondly, pay attention to protecting the environment during the tour, do not litter, do not destroy exhibits at will, etc. Finally, if you are interested in history and culture, you can learn some relevant knowledge in advance so that you can better visit and understand each attraction.

When visiting the Shanghai Tower Observation Deck, please note the following: comply with scenic area regulations do not climb or explore in non-tourist areas, pay attention to safety, and maintain a safe distance from scenic facilities.

protect your belongings and do not carry too much cash or valuables to avoid loss or theft.

When participating in activities such as pinnacle art exhibitions and audio-visual performances, you need to abide by the activity regulations, keep quiet, and not affect the experience of other tourists.

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