'Four giants:' architectural feats that created Shanghai's famous skyline

Editor’s note:

Rome wasn’t built in a day. Neither was Shanghai. Once dubbed "the Paris of the East,” the city has evolved into a fusion of multiculturalism. Along the way, Shanghai has accumulated a repository of stories about the people and events that have shaped its history. Five areas of the city occupy pride of place in that journey: People’s Square, Jing’an Temple, Xujiahui, Lujiazui and Xintiandi. This series, a collaboration with Shanghai Local Chronicles Library, visits them all to follow in the footsteps of time.

Shanghai’s skyline is dominated by towering skyscrapers known as the “four giants” in the Lujiazui financial center of the Pudong New Area.

These architectural marvels — the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, Jin Mao Tower, Shanghai World Financial Center and Shanghai Tower — stand as symbols of the city’s modernization and as proud markers of Pudong’s rapid transformation.

The 468-meter-tall Oriental Pearl TV Tower, completed in 1994, was one of the earliest and most ambitious projects of Pudong’s development.

Its design, which includes 11 spheres stacked on top of one another, was inspired by a Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) poem, which describes “large and small pearls dropping onto a jade plate.”

In the 1980s, the old television towers in the city could not handle interference caused by the increasing height of surrounding buildings. The need for a new TV tower to improve reception became a priority.

Originally, several locations in Puxi on the western bank of the Huangpu River were considered as host sites, including People’s Square. However, after Pudong was designated a special development area, plans for the new tower shifted to the eastern shore of the river.

Lujiazui was chosen because it offered a perfect visual alignment with the famous Nanjing Road on the western side of the river.

While the tower was originally conceived to improve television transmission, it also became a major tourist attraction.

With 15 observation decks offering sweeping views of the city, it soon became one of Shanghai’s most iconic landmarks, especially at night when its illuminated design lights up the city skyline.

In 1992, the city government decided to build a skyscraper that would mark the country’s economic rise and global ambitions. The result was the Jin Mao Tower, which was completed in 1998.

The tower, rising 420.5 meters with 88 floors, was once the tallest building in China. The tower tapers as it rises, mimicking the shape of an ancient Chinese pagoda while integrating modern engineering techniques.

The building’s construction was no easy feat. The site chosen for the tower had soft subsoil, and engineers faced the challenge of ensuring the foundation could support such a massive structure.

Teams of experts conducted extensive soil tests and designed the building to withstand level-12 typhoons and earthquakes stronger than magnitude 7.0. The design was also updated to incorporate more seismic measures.

When the tower opened in 1999, its unique glass-and-steel fa?ade and 360-degree observation deck quickly made it the most famous building in the city.

The tower’s outer glass panels change hues with the weather, shifting from a cool blue on sunny days to a soft silver in the rain and a glowing gold at sunset.

The Shanghai World Financial Center opened in 2008, surpassing the Jin Mao as the tallest building in China at the time.

At 492 meters, the World Financial Center is known for its trapezoidal “hole” at the top, which gives the building its iconic look as a “bottle opener.”

The aperture was not just for esthetic purposes. It also helped reduce wind resistance at higher levels.

However, the completion of building was slowed by several events, including the 1997 Asian financial crisis and the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003.

Despite the challenges, the project persevered, thanks in part to the vision of lead investor, Japanese real estate firm Mori Building.

After several years of construction halts, Mori decided to increase the height of the building to ensure it would be the world’s tallest once completed. The decision came after skyscrapers in Hong Kong and Taiwan began to surpass the original planned height of the Shanghai World Financial Center. The final result was a 101-story building.

When it officially opened, the skyscraper was celebrated as a monumental achievement in both design and perseverance.

The building has three observation decks; the highest at 474 meters is one of the highest observation decks in the world.

By 2016, Shanghai’s skyline had grown even more impressive with the completion of the Shanghai Tower, which stands as the tallest building in China at 632 meters.

The tower’s spiral design was inspired by traditional Chinese architecture, representing a Chinese dragon ascending toward heaven.

Its twisting shape also serves a functional purpose, helping to reduce wind resistance and making the supertall building more stable during storms.

The Shanghai Tower’s construction involved cutting-edge technologies, including electromagnetic damping systems that protect the building from strong winds and earthquakes.

The building’s foundation was also a feat of engineering, with 980 deep piles reaching 86 meters below the surface to ensure stability in the soft ground.

Its design includes both commercial and public spaces, offering panoramic views of the city from its 118th-floor observation deck.