Shanghai Tower is in Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone of Pudong, with Shanghai World Financial Center to the east and Jin Mao Tower to the north. The tower ranks as China's tallest building and second only to the world at large. The foot print takes up 30,368 square meters (about 326,878 square feet) with floor space of about 576,000 square meters (about 6,200,012 square feet), with 5 basement levels, 127 floors above ground and 5 podium floors.
For tourists, a Shanghai Tower visit would not be completed unless including a climb to the 'Top of Shanghai Observatory', which is the world's highest indoor observation deck. From this height, one can enjoy a unique panoramic view of the Huangpu River, the Bund on the west, and several other skyscrapers like the Jin Mao Tower and the World Financial Center on the east bank. Tourists are recommended to visit the exhibition hall on floor B1 first, and then take the express elevator to the 118th floor directly within only 55 seconds. At last, see the exhibition of 'Shanghai Eye' on the 125th and 126th floors if time permits.
Shanghai Tower Construction
Because Shanghai is on a inactive seismic belt and the construction site is in a river basin, a firm foundation for this skyscraper is very important. To firm up the ground, engineers first put 980 foundation piles underground to a depth of 86 meters (282 feet), and then poured 61,000 cube meters (2.15 million cube feet) of concrete to set a 6-meter-thick (20-foot-thick) baseboard for anchoring the main building.
The exterior of the building spirals upward like a snake. It twists about one degree per floor to offset the wind effect on higher altitude. This is very important to a super tall building in Shanghai to withstand frequent typhoons.
The tower sports two glass facades, an inner one and an outer one, like overlapping "tubes". The space between the two "tubes" varies from 1 to 10 meters (3 to 33 feet) wide, providing more public space inside the building. At the mean time, the space functions as a heat insulation layer like in a thermos flask. This is environment-friendly and costing less.
Shanghai Tower Elevators
The building is serviced by 149 elevators, of which 108 are lifts. Three of the lifts can send passengers up to the 546 meters (1,791 ft) high sightseeing deck from street level within one minute, which is a world record holder.
Divisions & Functional Areas
As a complex super tall building, the Tower is subdivided into five main functional areas: 24-hour offices for multinational companies and financial services; super five-star hotels and support facilities, offering personalized service and amenities; high end retail shops etc; recreation zone, forming a new business and cultural center in the city, a clear departure from ghost town image of Lujiazui after working hours; conference facilities, including sightseeing rooms in upper floors, and a multifunction conference center measuring over 2,000 square meters (about 21,528 square feet) and a multifunction banquet hall measuring more than 1,000 square meters (about 10,764 square feet) in podium building.