Jinmao Tower

The Jin Mao Building symbolizes  Shanghai emerging into the 21st century. It is the tallest building in the country and third tallest in the world; it hosts the tallest hotel ever built. With an east-meets-west design signifying Shanghai's emergence as a modern global city, Jin Mao follows the multi-use paradigm, offering retail shopping at its base, offices above, and the Grand Hyatt World's Highest Hotel occupying the upper 38 floors.

The Jin Mao building was designed by US architectural firm Skidmore Owings & Merrill, and was built by the Shanghai Jian Gong Group, the first Chinese national construction group to tackle such a large and significant project. The Jin Mao Building is a luxurious complex combining office space with commercial space, a shopping mall, and entertainment functions. The three basement levels house electric facilities, service facilities, parking spaces and a food court.

The Jin Mao building is a superb design, combining elements of traditional Chinese architecture and a gothic influence to produce this amazingly modern building. Architects designed the building around the theme of the Chinese pagoda and the number 8(the number 8 is considered extremely lucky by Chinese people): the lowest segment of the building is sixteen stories high and each succeeding segment is 1/8th smaller than its predecessor.

Two elevators with a speed of 9.1 m/sec. work to transport visitors in seconds from the first basement to the sightseeing floor. At this level, visitors have a far-ranged 360 degree view of new Shanghai.