Friday, December 2

Top of Shanghai Observatory

SWFC behind Jin Mao tower on the left and Shanghai Tower on the right

Shanghai Tower was made with a spin 

The building is the tallest in Asia and second tallest in the world

Not the best view due to some clouds or maybe just smog 

Not too many people 

SWFC - went there some years ago

Only these were visible from the observatory


Even though it hasn’t been widely marketed, the observatory of Shanghai Tower has been open for a while. Shanghai Tower is the newest and highest skyscraper in Lujiazui, and on top of that the second tallest in the world. Regardless, the observatory is the highest in the world, so that has to count for something, right? I thought we had picked the perfect day; sunny weather. It turned out sunny weather at 546 meters isn’t that ideal. The observatory was quite hot and the air wasn’t clear enough to see to the other side of the river even. In other words the visibility was poor and we could only see the skyscrapers next to us.

Compared to the SWFC, which is the second tallest tower next door, the Shanghai Tower observatory felt safer for people like me, who are afraid of heights, since it doesn’t have any glass floor. In addition, the building has a 360 degree view, while from the SWFC you can only look two ways. Overall the experience of going to the observatory is quite similar in both skyscrapers. Both start from the cellar, where there is some sort of exhibition. Then there is an elevator that speeds up to the top without making any stops in less than a minute. This means that the Shanghai Tower elevator’s fastest speed was 18 m/s. You don’t feel the speed in any other way than the pressure building in your ears.

I have to say that the Shanghai Tower was in that way much more boring, since it only offered a small shop and café, and only had one floor of access at the top. The SWFC had two or three floors that you could access and quite a large shop upstairs. Shanghai Tower did have a gift shop at the bottom, but it didn’t offer anything interesting. In the end a good reminder for anyone interested in going to the tower; take your passport or ID, since they will check it before letting you buy tickets. We had a Chinese woman in front who barely made it in, because she didn’t take any valid ID with her. 



Nyt on maailman korkein näköalapaikka koettu. Näköalapaikka sijaitsee 118. kerroksessa uudessa Shanghai Towerissa. Pilvenpiirtäjä on kuulemma todella ekologisesti rakennettu, sillä se mm. kerää sadevettä ja tuplalasien takia ei tuhlaa lämmitystä. Kyttäsin pitkään, että milloin meillä olisi aurinkoinen päivä täällä Shanghaissa. Sää ei kuitenkaan loppujenlopuksi ollut se paras, sillä yli 500 metrin korkeudessa oli melko pilvistä. Emme siis nähneet paljon muuta kuin viereiset pilvenpiirtäjät.


Näköalakerrokseen pääsi huippunopealla hissillä, joka kulkee nopeimmillaan 18 m/s. Matka huipulle kestää alle minuutin! Hissi on sen verran vakaa, ettei muuten kuin korvien ilmanpaineessa eroa huomaa. Shanghai Tower on SWFC verrattuna turvallisemman oloinen, sillä täällä ei ollut lasitettua lattiaa. Lisäksi tornissa oli 360-asteen näkymät, kun taas SWFCssä näki vain kahteen suuntaan. Muuten siellä ei oikeastaan ollut mitään sen kummallisempaa. Vähän kyllä harmitti näkyvyyden puute, mutta eipäs sille oikeastaan mitään voi tehdä.