东方明珠塔 - 东方明珠电视塔
The Oriental Pearl Tower

The Oriental Pearl Tower (Chinese: 东方明珠塔; pinyin: Dōngfāng Míngzhūtǎ, official name: 东方明珠电视塔) is a TV tower in Shanghai, China. The Oriental Pearl Tower is located at the tip of Lujiazui in the Pudong district, by the side of Huangpu River, opposite of The Bund.

It was designed by the Shanghai Modern Architectural Design Co. Ltd. Principal designers are Jiang Huan Chen, Lin Benlin and Zhang Xiulin. Construction began in 1990 and the tower was completed in 1994. At 468 m (1,535 feet) high, it was the tallest structure in China from 1994–2007, when it was surpassed by the Shanghai World Financial Center. The Oriental Pearl Tower belongs to the World Federation of Great Towers.^[1][2][3]

On 7 July 2007, Oriental Pearl Tower was host to the Chinese Live Earth concert.

Structural data

The tower features 11 spheres, big and small. The two largest spheres, along the length of the tower, have diameters of 50 m (164 ft) for the lower and 45 m (148 ft) for the upper. They are linked by three columns, each 9 m (30 ft) in diameter. The highest sphere is 14 m (46 ft) in diameter.

The entire building is supported by three enormous columns that start underground.

Observation levels

The tower has fifteen observatory levels. The highest (known as the Space Module) is at 350 m (1148 ft). The lower levels are at 263 m (863 ft) (Sightseeing Floor) and at 90 m (295 ft) (Space City). There is a revolving restaurant at the 267 m (876 ft) level. The project also contains exhibition facilities, restaurants and a shopping mall. There is also a 20-room hotel called the Space Hotel between the two large spheres.

Antenna spire

An antenna, broadcasting TV and radio programs, extends the construction by another 118 m (387 ft) to a total height of 468 metres (1,535 ft).

Chinese symbolism in the design

The design of the building is said to be based on a verse of the Tang Dynasty poem Pipa Song by Bai Juyi about the wonderful sprinkling sound of a pipa instrument, like pearls, big and small falling on a jade plate (大珠小珠落玉盘/大珠小珠落玉盤/dà zhū xiǎo zhū luò yù pán). However, the designer Jiang Huancheng says that he did not have the poem in mind when designing the tower. It was the chief of the jury board who said it reminded him of that poem.^[4]

2010 fire

On April 13, 2010 the antenna at the top of the 468m tower caught fire at around 2 am. The fire was then put out by firefighters. Prior to the fire there were a series of thunderstorms.^[5][6]

陆家嘴 - 陸家嘴
Lujiazui

Lujiazui (simplified Chinese: 陆家嘴; traditional Chinese: 陸家嘴; pinyin: Lùjiāzuǐ) is an important financial district in Pudong, Shanghai. In 2005 the State Council reaffirmed the positioning of the 31.78 km² Lujiazui area, as the only finance and trade zone among the 185 state-level development zones in mainland China.

Economy

Currently, there are more than 30 buildings over 25 stories high with commerce as their leading function, and over 504 domestic and overseas financial and insurance corporations located in Lujiazui.^[1]

The success of Pudong in the past 20 years has fueled tourism and business related travel to Shanghai. Pictures of the Pudong skyline dominate Shanghai tourism materials, and there are 5 five-star hotels in the Lujiazui area, providing approximately 2,443 rooms, and three more five-star hotels are expected in the area in the coming years, adding more than 1,200 luxury units.^[2]

Geography

Lujiazui, which literally means "Lu's Mouth", is located in the Pudong New District on the eastern bank of Huangpu River. It forms a peninsula on a bend of the Huangpu river, which turns from flowing north to flowing east. The importance of Lujiazui stems from the fact that it lies directly across the river from the Bund, the old financial and business district of Shanghai, and just south of the confluence of the Suzhou Creek with the Huangpu River. Until the 1980s, Lujiazui was a relatively low-built area, featuring residential houses, warehouses, and factories.

Landmarks

Popular tourist attractions and other important locations in Lujiazui include:
* Oriental Pearl Tower
* Jin Mao Building
* Bank of China Tower
* Shanghai World Financial Center

Transportation

Lujiazui can be reached by taking Shanghai Metro Line 2 to Lujiazui station.

浦东 - 浦東 - 浦东新区 - 浦東新區
Pudong

Pudong (simplified Chinese: 浦东; traditional Chinese: 浦東), officially known as Pudong New Area (simplified Chinese: 浦东新区; traditional Chinese: 浦東新區), is a district of Shanghai, China that enjoys sub-provincial administrative status. It is named "Pudong" because of its location on the east side of the Huangpu river, on the opposite of Puxi, the west side. After its merger with Nanhui District in May 2009, the Pudong New Area comprises the majority of land in eastern Shanghai.

Since the beginning of its development in 1990 when plans were first announced, Pudong has become a New Open Economic Development Zone, and has emerged as China's financial and commercial hub. Pudong is home to the Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone, the Shanghai Stock Exchange, and a skyline that includes the symbolic Oriental Pearl Tower, the Jin Mao Building, the Shanghai World Financial Center and the under-construction Shanghai Tower, reflective of Shanghai and China's rapid economic development.

Geography

Pudong literally means "East of the Huang pu". Pudong is bounded by the Huangpu river in the west and the East China Sea in the east. It has an area of 1210.4 km² and a population of more than 5 million people. Pudong is contrasted with Puxi, the older part of Shanghai on the west bank of the Huangpu River, which is divided into various administrative districts.

Government

Districts of the direct-controlled municipality of Shanghai are administratively on the same level as prefecture-level cities. However, the government of Pudong has a status equivalent to that of a sub-provincial city, which is half a level above a prefecture-level city. This is due to Pudong's size and importance as the financial hub of China.

Population

Since its inception as a special economic zone and China's financial centre, Pudong's population of 5 million largely consists of migrants from the Puxi side of Shanghai and those from other regions in China.

Economy

With the Nanhui District merger in May 2009, Pudong's new gross domestic product amounts to an estimated RMB370 billion (US$53.98 billion), roughly equal to that of Slovenia. Its GDP per capita is therefore around US$16,938. The area's aggregate GDP has now surpassed that of six provincial-level entities.

The area is divided into four distinct economic districts. Apart from Lujiazui Trade and Finance Zone, there is Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone, the largest free trade zone in mainland China covering approximately 10 km² in north-east Pudong. The Jinqiao Export Processing Zone is another major industrial area in Pudong covering 19 km². Zhangjiang Hi-tech Park is a special area for technology-oriented businesses, covering 17 km² in central Pudong.

The Pudong area continues to experience rapid development, especially in the commercial sector, with 1.3 million square meters of prime office space reaching completion in 2008, more than the previous two years combined.^[2]

Pudong has also attracted considerable fixed asset and real estate investment, reporting RMB 87.268 billion in fixed asset investment and RMB 27.997 billion in real estate investment in 2008.^[3]

The newest Disney Theme Park is now under construction in Pudong. It is planned to be operational by 2013.^[4]

Transportation

The Shanghai Pudong International Airport opened its doors in 1999, shortening the travel time for visitors.

In the same year, Line 2 of the Shanghai Metro commenced services. An extension brought the line further east, where it serves the airport. Other lines, namely Lines 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12 and 13 also have sections that serve parts of Pudong. A magnetic levitation train began operating in 2004, moving passengers between the airport and Longyang Road Metro station.

Pudong is connected to Puxi by several tunnels and four major bridges. The first of these bridges were the Nanpu Bridge (1991) and the Yangpu Bridge (1993). The Xupu Bridge opened in 1996. The latest of these is Lupu Bridge, which is the world's second longest arch bridge and was completed in 2002. Currently there are five tunnels that link the two sides, Dapu Rd. Tunnel, the first tunnel across the Huangpu River, Yan'an Rd. Tunnel, running east-west, and Dalian Rd. Tunnel, running north-south, Fuxing Rd. Tunnel, complementing the Yan'an Rd. Tunnel, Waihuan Tunnel, one part of Shanghai Outer Ring Express. Two new tunnels linking Lujiazui to Puxi are under construction.

Roads in Pudong have no particular longitudinal or latitudinal orientation. Major thoroughfares Pudong Avenue, Zhangyang Road and Yanggao Road run east-west until Yangpu Bridge before turning gradually to become north-south. Century Avenue crosses all three major roads and extends from Lujiazui to Century Park. Yanggao Road extends south to the A20, Shanghai's outer Ring road, which runs east-west from Xupu Bridge and then north-south beginning at the interchange near Renxi Village, when the east-west expressway turns into Yingbin Avenue, headed for Pudong International Airport.

History

'Pudong' referred to the land in the east of Huangpu River. However, the area nearby the River was administered by other districts in Puxi including Huangpu District, Yangpu District, Nanshi District (absorbed by Huangpu District now). The rest of the area was administered by Chuansha County. Before 1990, Pudong was mainly farmland and countryside. In 1993, the Chinese government decided to set up a Special Economic Zone in Chuansha county, then Pudong New Area was created, and simultaneously, the land along the river bank was turned over to Pudong. The western tip of the Pudong district was designated to be the new financial hub of modern China called the Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone. Several landmark buildings were constructed in Lujiazui during the 1990s to raise the image and awareness of the area. These include the Oriental Pearl Tower, the Jin Mao Building and Shanghai World Financial Center (highest building in Shanghai, 494 m). On May 6, 2009, it was disclosed that the State Council had approved the proposal to merge Nanhui District to Pudong.