People’s Republic of China Archive

Shanghai World Financial Center

The Shanghai World Financial Center (Abbr: SWFC; simplified Chinese: 上海环球金融中心; traditional Chinese: 上海環球金融中心; pinyin: Shànghǎi huánqiú jīnróng zhōngxīn) is a supertall skyscraper in Pudong, Shanghai, China. It is a mixed use skyscraper which consists of offices, hotels, conference rooms, observation decks, and shopping malls on the ground floors. Park Hyatt Shanghai is the hotel component containing 174 rooms and suites. Occupying the 79th to the 93rd floors, it is the highest hotel in the world, surpassing the Grand Hyatt Shanghai on the 53rd to 87th floors of the neighboring Jin Mao Tower.

On 14 September 2007 the skyscraper was topped out at 492.0 meters (1,614.2 ft) and became the second-tallest building in the world; as well as the tallest structure in the People’s Republic of China, including Hong Kong. It is currently the third-tallest building in the world. It also had the highest occupied floor and the highest height to roof, two categories used to determine the title of "The World’s Tallest Building".

 

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Nanjing Greenland Financial Center

The Nanjing Greenland Financial Center (simplified Chinese: 南京紫峰大厦, also Greenland Square Zifeng Tower) is a 450-metre (1,480 ft) supertall skyscraper currently topped-out in Nanjing, China with completion expected in 2009. The 89-story building will feature office space and retail space in the lower section, and restaurants and a public observatory near the top, which will be topped off with a spire. The tower’s stepping is functional, helping separate these sections.

The mixed-use tower which overlooks Xuanwu Lake became the second tallest building in China and the 5th tallest building in the world when topped out in 2008. An observation deck on the 72nd floor, 287 m (942 ft) above ground, will provide an unobstructed, panoramic view of Nanjing and the nearby Yangtze River, two lakes and the Ningzheng Ridge mountains.

 

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Hangzhou Bay Bridge

Hangzhou Bay Bridge (simplified Chinese: 杭州湾大桥; traditional Chinese: 杭州灣大橋; pinyin: Hángzhōu Wān Dàqiáo), is a long highway bridge with a cable-stayed portion across Hangzhou Bay in the eastern coastal region of China. It connects the municipalities of Jiaxing and Ningbo in Zhejiang province. At 35.673 km (22 mi) in length, Hangzhou Bay Bridge is the longest trans-oceanic bridge in the world, but it does not have the longest cable-stayed main span. It is also second in the world in overall length, with the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway in the United States being 2.8 kilometers longer.

Construction of the bridge was completed on June 14, 2007, and an opening ceremony was held on June 26, 2007 to great domestic media fanfare. But the bridge was not opened to public use until May 1, 2008 after a considerable period of testing and evaluation. The bridge shortened the highway travel distance between Ningbo and Shanghai by 120 km (75 mi) from 400 km (249 mi) and reduced travel time from 4 to 2.5 hours.

 

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