“Asian Review 001”–Shanghai part1
Shanghai – An international city leading a huge market economy and a mobile society
Three tall skyscrapers lead the economic growth
Lujiazui, Shanghai: This may be an unfamiliar name to foreigners, but the landscape here is well known all over the world. Such as the scenery where tall buildings are standing on the opposite riverside from the old city center.
In the urban area of Shanghai, “Huang-Pu-Jiang” river flows from the southwest to the northeast, and the area west of this mother river is called Pu-Xi, the area east is called Pu-Dong.
The main part of Pu-Xi is a historical urban area which was once a settlement of France, England and other countries in the 19th century. Pu-Dong was originally a nameless rural village until 1992, when the administrative district named “Pu-Dong New Area” was established. Eventually, the land located on the opposite side of “the Bund” near the old city area was named “Lujiazui Financial and Trade Zone” and was designated to be a special zone to promote the development of office buildings mainly for the financial industry. After the completion of the “Oriental Pearl TV Tower” in 1994, Shanghai Securities Exchange, Shanghai Real Estate Center, People’s Bank of China Shanghai, and Hong Kong Shanghai Bank were built one after another.
In 1998, the “Jin-Mao Tower” an 88 story (420 meters tall) skyscraper was completed to become the landmark. In 2008, Mori Building Company (Japan) constructed the “Shanghai World Financial Center,” an 101 story (492 meters tall) skyscraper. For a while, Shanghai was well known for these two tall skyscrapers.
However, according to “Feng Shui,” there were voices that the space being dominated by “two” is unstable. In 2016, the long-awaited third tower “Shanghai Tower” showed its magnificent appearance being 127 stories tall and 632 meters high.
This “Shanghai Tower” has an intense design with a double glass curtain wall covering the outside of the building in a helically twisted shape. Between the inner and outer glass curtain walls, there are nine atriums of varying height from the ground to the top, which are open to the Shanghai citizens. Its appearance is dynamic like a dragon ascending to heaven in a spiral, symbolizing Shanghai’s economy which is also known as the rising dragon.
Shanghai is said to be stabilized with the three towers. How Shanghai will lead the huge market economy under the solid political regime will definitely draw our attention.
