Shanghai World Financial Center, the largest skyscraper on the Chinese mainland and the third longest skyscraper in the world after the Dubai Tower and Taipei 101, officially opened on Thursday.
The 492-meter-high building is located in Lujiazui District of Pudong District, "Wall Street China", overlooking the Huangpu River, according to the Shanghai Building Group, which built the building. It covers an area of 381600 square meters. It consists of 101 floors above ground floor and three underground floors.
The first and second floors are commercial, with the third to fifth floors allocated to conference centers. The seventh to the 77th floors will be administrative offices. The 79 to 93 floors will consist of the Park Hyatt Shanghai, which is expected to start trial operation on Monday.
The 94th to 100th floors will be a sightseeing observatory and will be open to tourists on Saturday. The observatory on the 100th floor, 474 meters above ground, is the tallest of its kind in the world.
It is expected to receive 3 million tourists a year. The admission ticket ranges from 110 yuan (16 US dollars) to 150 yuan.
Construction of the skyscraper began in 1997 but was suspended amid the financial crisis in Southeast Asia. Construction resumed in 2003.
"Few people thought Pudong would become a financial center when we decided to invest here," said Minoru Mori, founder of Mori Building and skyscraper investor. "The successful construction of the Shanghai World Financial Center has proved that Shanghai will inevitably become a major trading city in Asia," he said. (Xinhua)
