Shanghai Tower

상하이 타워

Shanghai Tower is a 128-story, 632-metre skyscraper in Lujiazui, Pudong, Shanghai. It is the tallest building in China and the world's third-tallest by height to its architectural top. It is the tallest of the world's first three supertall towers standing next to each other, along with the Jin Mao Tower and the Shanghai World Financial Center.

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At a glance

Country: China
Location: Shanghai, China
Built: 2015
Height: 632 m
Type: Skyscraper

Quick answers

Where is Shanghai Tower?

Shanghai Tower is in Shanghai, China.

When was Shanghai Tower built?

Shanghai Tower was built in 2015.

How tall is Shanghai Tower?

Shanghai Tower is about 632 m tall.

A 632 m skyscraper with a twisting, spiralling glass skin, the tallest building in China.

The tower was designed by the international firm Gensler and is owned by a group of state-owned companies. Its tiered design, built for high energy efficiency, provides nine separate zones for offices, shops and leisure. The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat calls it one of the most sustainably advanced tall buildings in the world, and it was the tallest and largest LEED-CS Platinum-certified building in the world from 2016 to 2025.

Building a giant

The site was once a driving range. Groundbreaking was on 29 November 2008, and the core was built floor by floor using a repeated slip-forming process. By April 2013 the tower had reached 108 floors and passed the heights of its two neighbours, and the final structural beam was laid on 3 August 2013. The exterior was finished in summer 2015. The estimated cost was US$2.4 billion.

Records in the sky

Its elevators were the world's fastest at 20.5 metres per second until 2017, when Guangzhou's CTF Finance Centre overtook them at 21 metres per second. The sightseeing decks on the 118th and 119th floors have been fully open since 26 April 2017. By 2020 a deck called Top of Shanghai on the 121st floor, at 562 metres, made it the highest observation deck in the world, beating the Burj Khalifa's at 555 metres. The J Hotel on the 120th floor, opened in 2021, became the world's highest luxury hotel above ground.

A neighbourhood of three towers

Plans for Lujiazui from 1993 already showed a close group of three supertall towers. The Jin Mao Tower was completed in 1999, the Shanghai World Financial Center in 2008, and Shanghai Tower last. It also held the title of second tallest building to its tip from 2015 to 2021, until Merdeka 118 in Malaysia was completed.

Fun facts

The tower stands on a former driving range.
Its elevators ran at 20.5 metres per second.
Its Top of Shanghai deck at 562 metres beat the Burj Khalifa's deck.
The J Hotel on the 120th floor is the world's highest luxury hotel above ground.