|
|
|
|
Built:
1991- 1995
Designed by: Jia Huan Cheng
Type: Tower
Location: 158 Yincheng Rd (N)
City: Shanghai
State: Shanghai Shi
|
L
ooking more like something out of "Blade Runner" than "The Good Earth" the Oriental Pearl Tower in Shanghai is one of the world's great towers. At first glance it appears to be molded in the most modern of styles. But a more careful study reveals that it, like most modern Asian architecture, still adheres to traditional norms. The spheres hang in the sky like perfect pearls, reflecting in the Huangpu River they seem perfectly at home amid the lush greenery surrounding. In fact, the tower is the host of eleven spheres, or pearls, that appear to be dropping from the sky onto a jade plate; two very traditional, very Chinese, precious elements. From a more practical standpoint, the tower serves as a radiating point for a number of television and radio stations in Shanghai, beaming signals over a 44-mile radius. It has a high-speed double-decker elevator plus two standard elevators that whisk up to 50 people at a time to the various restaurants, discos, conference rooms, and other attractions in the skyscraper. The tower is such an important landmark and a fascination to tourists that its 1,148-foot high observation deck was opened to the public seven months before the building was completed. In fact, an entire subculture of Pearl Tower enthusiasts has been born. The hoopla surrounding the building is known as the "Pearl Phenomena." Its central support structure is similar to the Reunion Tower in Dallas, Texas, USA -- three columns nine meters in diameter. Supplementing these at the base are three more braces, each seven meters in diameter, plunged into the ground.
|
|
|
