Skyscrapers continue to grow taller in China

World Today

Over the past two decades, hundreds of skyscrapers have been built in China’s fast growing cities. Nowhere is this transformation more stark than in Shanghai, home to Shanghai Tower, China’s tallest skyscraper. CCTV’s Lin Nan reported this story from Shanghai.

Nearly six years in the making, the Shanghai Tower is constantly reaching for the top. Reaching 632 meters or 2,073 feet, it will be China’s tallest skyscraper when it’s final phase is complete. However it will likely only hold that crown for a short period of time. More ambitious projects are under construction including a 729-meter (2,392 feet) building in the neighboring city of Suzhou.

According to the world’s leading commercial real estate company the CBRE Group, China will account for 70 percent of the world’s construction of super-tall buildings in the next five years.

“There are many people driving this boom. Developers can get high revenues by building taller and increasing usable areas to balance the high price of land,” Zhang Xiaochun, editorial director of Time + Architecture Journal.

The drive to build the tallest has triggered a backlash in some Chinese cities, with city planners and architects criticizing some designs for being excessive and unrealistic.

“Skyscrapers are not just an issue of technology and construction, it is more like a social issue. Developers and planners should consider the city’s geographical and natural conditions, cultural heritages and its people,” Zhang said.

By 2016, it’s estimated that China will have around 800 skyscrapers.