Shanghai gets tallest skyscraper in Asia

The almost-finished finished World Financial Center (that I can see from my study while writing blog entries) is currently the tallest building in China, at 492 meters. Right next to it is the long-time number one, the Jinmao Tower, the one with the Grand Hyatt Hotel in it. But it looks both of them will get an even taller neighbor.

A new project, the Shanghai Center, will start construction before the end of this year. The tower will be 112 stories tall, and at 580 meters will be 72 meters higher than the current number one in Asia, Taipei 101. However, it is not as high as the beautiful Burj Dubai (still under construction), which estimated height may be over 800 meter (it’s height is still kept secret). The Shanghai Center will be built on the former driving range on the south side of the Jinmao Tower. The final design has not been decided upon yet. In typical Chinese fashion the building will be built in record time: in 2010 it should be finished already!

Update: This post was originally called “Shanghai get tallest skyscraper in the world”, but as commenter Remco points out below, the Burj Dubai is much higher. I assumed China’s official news agency Xinhua would gets its facts right (see this link), but that is not the case. Therefore I adjusted the title and content of this post.