Shanghai Tower – Tallest Building in China

Shanghai Tower (上海中心) of 632m tall is now the tallest building in China and the second tallest building in the world (world’s tallest: Burj Khalifa Tower in Dubai – 828m), which has hit the globe, especially the media and construction industries. Shanghai Tower was designed by the renowned Gensler from the American in a shape of a spiral Chinese dragon, which means the gradual economic prosperity of China. With the super advanced techniques and design, this skyscraper is praised as a top great “Green Building” worldwide. Since it is so far the Chinese tallest one, it has been attracting numerous people to feel the height, modern feature, especially to take the world’s fastest elevator to the 546m high floor that is the world’s highest observation deck and there you can appreciate the fantastic sightseeing of the large area of Shanghai downtown and feel standing in the sky.

World’s Fastest Elevator – 18 m/s

Do you know who the winner of the fastest elevator in the whole world is? Exactly, he is Shanghai Tower. This elevator was designed by the famous Mitsubishi with the highest speed reaching 18 m/s, which is even faster than that of Taipei 101 (16.83 m/s) in Taiwan. Taking this elevator, you can stably arrive at 546m for ONLY 55s from the Basement 1. You will be surprised when the doors open in such short period. How amazing and unbelievable!

Before taking the elevator, you can take a picture and get the certificate of reaching the Shanghai Tower top under the welcome of the staff, which is a fantastic memory of your Shanghai Tower tour.

Closest to the Sky above Shanghai – F 125 / 126 (583.4m)

The F 125 and F 126 about to open to the public will be the highest place people can get to in Shanghai Tower. At the 583.4m high part, you will admire the “Eye of Shanghai” that is the most mysterious and popular point there, concentrating the technology, wisdom and art of human. Standing at the place closest to the sky, you will feel the entire world is quiet only for you. What a touching and proud moment! Moreover, at the appointed time, the “eye” will play great international music pieces for you, which is so fantastic like an audio feast like a live concert.

On the 125th Floor, the 1,000 tons weigh damper that works to steady Shanghai Tower from the natural forces will be showed by the amazing system of high technologies. At the appointed time, you and I will surely be proud of the wisdom of human being and the great design of this soaring tower.

Highest Activity Venue – F 119

The F 119 is the venue for diverse of brand exhibitions, new product release, high-end forums, etc. With the height of over 550m, this is the world highest venue of the fancy activities and opens to people occasionally.

Relaxing Sky Lobbies - F22, 37, 52, 68

The relaxing high lobbies are set at transfer floors at F22, 37, 52, 68 in building section 2 to 6. The design of the double curtain walls divides each lobby into three sky gardens to provide public space for communication and leisure. The sky lobby at 22nd floor is mainly for fitness, dental care, restaurants; the sky lobby at 37th floor is Shanghai Guanfu Museum and the highest Chinese style garden. The 52nd and 68th floors are bookstores and Michelin high-end restaurants.

Shanghai Tower Mall – B2-F4

The shopping mall area is on the floor B2 to floor 4. Tourists can have a high-end shopping and recreational experience with brand retails, restaurants, banks, cafes, shops of cultural products, etc. On the floor B2, it boasts a beautiful and comfortable enviroment with many featured souvenir shops.

Wonderland of Skyscrapers – B1

The Basement 1 where you take the elevator up to the F 118 is a wonderful place of skyscrapers, and you can learn and have fun with the secret of towering buildings. The beautiful pictures, videos, shocking models, and information of the top tallest buildings in the whole world, including Burj Khalifa Tower in Dubai, Freedom Tower and Empire State Building in New York, Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, and Two International Finance Center in Hong Kong, etc., which well shows the wisdom of human and the sustainable development of our green life with the sounds, lights, and other advanced devices.

Underground Public Avenue

The underground public avenue of Shanghai tower is about 340 meters long with a total area of about 5500 square meters, linking Shanghai Tower, Jin Mao Tower, Metro lines and it is soon to be connected to Shanghai World Financial Center, which enable the three towers in a golden triangle to be connected at underground level. Besides shopping , the undergound public avenue also hold a variety of art exhibitions.

The Gensler has granted Shanghai Tower with not only charming appearance, but also many other features to make it stronger and greener. Let’s see!

1. Elegant Streamlined Façade

Shanghai Tower looks like the guitar pick from the above, and its three smooth external walls of special glass continuously and spirally rise with the total degree of 120° from the base, which stands for the brisk life future of modern China.

2. Firm Foundation

Since the whole tower is over 600m high, it needs very solid foundation to bear its weight and drive away the defect of the soft soil in Pudong area that is on the alluvium. Therefore, the construction group built a concrete basement of about 6m deep on a piling foundation of about 86m deep.

3. High Wind Loading Rating

Every floor of Shanghai Tower spires for near 1° with the height changing, which will decrease the strength of wind so that the skyscraper will not shake too much as other tall buildings without such design. And after the test of the miniature of Shanghai Tower in the wind, it results that the lateral force reduces for 24%. That is super essential for the buildings in Shanghai where typhoons occur frequently.

4. Environment-friendly Quality

Gensler designed two glass walls over the tower. Between the glass walls, there is some room of about 90cm to 10m wide, which not only offers enough places but also decreases the need of warm and cool for it is like the thermal insulating layer in a thermos. That saves the energy consumption of this tower and benefits the natural environment. Besides, Shanghai Tower has used some machine and technology to collect the rainwater and recycle after purification to release the use of supplied water so as to lead a green life. And it finally is praised as the world’s tallest green building.

• Popular Shanghai Tours
✔ 3 Days Shanghai & Zhujiajiao Water Town Tour
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Shanghai Tower is located at the core zone of Lujiazui (陆家嘴) Finance and Trade Zone in Pudong (浦东) area in Shanghai, super close to Jinmao Tower, Shanghai International Financial Center and other Shanghai Landmarks. You can visit this terrific skyscraper by taking bus, subway, taxi, cruise, bicycle, etc. without effort.

• From the Bund – 4km, 12mins driving
• From Jinmao Tower – 380m, 6mins walking
• From Shanghai World Financial Center – 240m, 4mins walking
• From Oriental Pearl Tower – 1km, 15mins walking
• From Shanghai Pudong Airport – 40km, 45mins driving
• From Shanghai Hongqiao Airport – 18km, 40mins driving
• From Shanghai Hongqiao Rail Station – 21km, 48mins driving

By Metro: Walk from Metro Line 2 Lujiazui Station Exit 6; Walk from Metro Line 2 Dongchang Road Station Exit 4

By Bus: Century Avenue/Shanghai East Hospital stop (Bus No. 01, 584, 85, 454,798, 783, 799, 992, Tunnel Line 3, Tunnel Line 4); Lujiazui Ring Road/East Hospital stop (Bus No. 455, Shangchuan Line, Cailu Line, Airport Bus Line 5); Pucheng Road/Dongchang Road stop (Bus No. 795, 86, Hu Nan Line); Pudong Avenue/Shanghai East Hospital stop (Bus No. 981,630,774,935,313,936,797,977,85,983,799,877, Tunnel Line 6, Tunnel Line 8, Tunnel Line 9); SouthPudongRoad/Dongchang Road stop (Bus No. 454,584,607,977,82,798,818,314,339,796,783,Tunnel Line 3, Qingao Line); Lujiazui Ring Road/Pucheng Road stop (Bus No. 985,82,961,875,583)

Note: the bus info is subject to change. Please contact us for more information.

Spend 2 to 3 days exploring Shanghai’s unique blend of Western and Eastern influences!

Usually, tourists spend 2 days sightseeing the most famous landmarks, including the Bund, skyscrapers like Shanghai Tower, historical Wukang Road, informative Shanghai Museum, etc. With one extra day, you can visit Zhujiajiao Water Town or enjoy family fun in Disneyland Park in the suburb.

☛ 2 Days Classic Shanghai City Tour
☛ 3 Days Shanghai Past and Present Contrast Tour
☛ 3 Days Shanghai Highlights & Zhujiajiao Water Town Tour

For a change of scenery, consider these easy getaways:

Suzhou (30 min by high-speed train) - Famous for its classical gardens and charming water towns.

Hangzhou (1 hour by high-speed train) - Renowned for the poetic West Lake and Longjing tea plantations.

Yellow Mountain (3 hours by high-speed train) - Breathtaking peaks and UNESCO-listed landscapes.

☛ 5 Days Shanghai Hangzhou Suzhou Highlights Tour
☛ 6 Splendid East China Tour by Bullet Train
☛ 5 Days Shanghai Huangshan Tour by High Speed Train
☛ 9 Days East China & Mt. Huang Tour by High Speed Train

Start Your China Adventure from Shanghai

As a major international hub, Shanghai is the ideal gateway for exploring China—many travelers begin or end their journeys here. If you're a first-timer, we recommend extending your trip to iconic destinations like Beijing (Great Wall & Forbidden City), Xi’an (Terracotta Warriors), Zhangjiajie (Avatar-inspired peaks), and Guilin (karst landscapes & idyllic river views).

☛ 8 Days Best of China Tour (Beijing/Xian/Shanghai)
☛ 10 Days Classic China Tour (Shanghai/Guilin/Xian/Beijing)
☛ 13 Days China Landscape Tour including Zhangjiajie and Guilin(Beijing/Xian/Zhangjiajie/Guilin/Shanghai)
☛ 17 Days China Paradise Tour with Tibet Discovery & Yangtze Cruise

Travel with China Discovery

As a leading travel agency in China which dedicates to offering high-quality China tours, China Discovery has helped thousands of travelers enjoy their trips to Shanghai, Beijing, Xian, etc., in China. Travel with us, you can enjoy worry-free tour services as well as well-organized itineraries, even our assistance of Chinese Visa application, convenient airport/train station pick-up & drop-off and transfer between all scenic spots, knowledgeable tour guide, safe & licensed private vehicle, satisfactory accommodation and dining and so on. You are free to choose from our most popular Shanghai tour packages or contact us to design a memorable holiday in Shanghai, China.