Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre

The Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre is a 530-metre (1,739-foot) skyscraper in Zhujiang New Town, the central business district of Guangzhou, China. It has 111 floors above ground and was completed in October 2016. When it opened it was the tallest building in Guangzhou and the third tallest in China. The tower stands on a 27,000-square-metre site along Zhujiang East Road.

People also call it the East Tower, because it stands across a central axis from a slightly shorter twin, the 439-metre Guangzhou International Finance Center, or West Tower. Inside are a shopping mall, offices, apartments and a hotel. The owner is Chow Tai Fook Enterprises.

How it is built

A square concrete core, 32 metres on each side, runs up the middle, and eight huge concrete "mega columns" stand along the edges. Steel outriggers and belt trusses, which are strong horizontal frames, tie them together so the tower stays stiff in wind and earthquakes. At the bottom, an eight-floor podium holds a glass-roofed atrium about 30 metres high. Underground passages link it to a mall and to public transport.

Fast elevators and a changed plan

The tower's elevators can travel up to 21 metres per second, about 75 kilometres per hour, and were among the fastest in the world when it opened. The plan also grew: in 2005 it was meant to be a copy of the 103-floor West Tower, but after the Chow Tai Fook company took over the project, the design was raised to 111 floors and 530 metres.

On the globe

The model shows a square tower whose corners step back, covered in white fins that rise above the roof like an open crown.