88 Shiji Dadao, near Dongtai Lu
21/5047-5101
HOURS: Daily 8 a.m.-10 p.m.
COST: ¥88
METRO: Lujiazui (Line 2)
The Jin Mao Tower has the look of a pagoda, with its jutting eaves and octagonal floor plan. The latticework that sheaths the building has attracted several free-climbers over the years, keen to scale its 88 floors from the outside.
The tower contains office space for Fortune 500 companies and houses the Grand Hyatt [1] hotel. It also has the world’s longest laundry chute. A super-fast elevator takes visitors up 340 meters (3,660 ft.) to the Skywalk observatory in just 45 seconds.
Like the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, the Jin Mao was designed on the principle of the figure 8, important in Eastern numerology. It was designed by Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill in Chicago and cost US$530 million to complete.
Links:
[1] http://www.moon.com/destinations/beijing-shanghai/shanghai-hotels/grand-hyatt