Tallest Building in Shanghai: Shanghai Tower at 632m

The tallest building in Shanghai is the Shanghai Tower, standing 632 meters (2,073 feet) tall with 128 floors above ground. Completed in 2015 in the Lujiazui finance district of Pudong, it is the tallest building in China and ranks as the third-tallest skyscraper in the world, surpassed only by the Burj Khalifa in Dubai and the Merdeka 118 in Kuala Lumpur.

Rising from the heart of Shanghai's financial district, the Shanghai Tower is far more than a record-holder. Its sweeping, spiraling silhouette has become one of the most recognizable symbols of modern China, and its engineering pushes the limits of how tall buildings can be made safer, greener, and more livable. This guide covers everything from the tower's exact dimensions and design philosophy to how visitors can reach the top and where it sits among the world's giants.

How Tall Is the Shanghai Tower?

The Shanghai Tower reaches 632 meters (2,073 feet) to its architectural top, with 128 stories above ground and 5 basement levels below. For perspective, it is more than twice the height of the Eiffel Tower and would dwarf New York's Empire State Building, which stands 443 meters tall including its antenna. When it was completed in 2015, it overtook the neighboring Shanghai World Financial Center to become the tallest structure in the city and in mainland China.

The Twisting Design and Its Engineering Genius

Designed by the American architecture firm Gensler, the Shanghai Tower is instantly identifiable by its graceful twisting form, which rotates a full 120 degrees from base to crown. This is not merely an aesthetic choice. The asymmetrical, tapering spiral reduces wind loads on the building by an estimated 24 percent compared with a rectangular tower of equal height. In a coastal city exposed to typhoons, that reduction translated into roughly $58 million in saved structural materials, allowing engineers to use less steel without compromising safety.

The tower is wrapped in a striking double-skin glass facade, two transparent layers separated by a buffer of air. This outer shell acts like a thermos, providing thermal insulation that reduces heating and cooling demand. The space between the skins forms a series of soaring atrium gardens that bring daylight and greenery deep into the building, softening the experience of working hundreds of meters in the air.

Building Specifications

• Height: 632 m (2,073 ft) to architectural top
• Floors: 128 above ground, 5 below
• Architect: Gensler
• Developer: Shanghai Tower Construction & Development
• Completed: 2015 (construction began 2008)
• Cost: Approximately $2.4 billion
• Use: Mixed — offices, hotel, retail, observation

Internally, the tower is organized into nine cylindrical zones stacked one atop another like a series of glass cans. Each zone has its own sky lobby and landscaped atrium garden, effectively creating nine smaller "buildings" within the larger structure. This vertical-village approach makes the enormous tower easier to navigate and helps distribute crowds, mechanical systems, and emergency refuges throughout its height.

The World's Fastest Elevators

Moving people efficiently through a 128-story building is a challenge in itself. The Shanghai Tower answered it with some of the fastest elevators ever installed, manufactured by Mitsubishi Electric and capable of reaching 20.5 meters per second, or about 46 miles per hour. At that pace, a visitor can travel from the ground floor to the observation deck on the 119th floor in under a minute. The high-speed cabs use specialized aerodynamic designs and pressure-control systems so passengers do not suffer the ear discomfort that rapid altitude changes normally cause.

Observation Deck and Visitor Information

The Shanghai Tower Observation Deck spans the 118th and 119th floors, offering sweeping panoramic views from 546 meters above ground. On a clear day, visitors can see for more than 40 kilometers across the sprawling metropolis, taking in the curve of the Huangpu River and the historic waterfront of the Bund. The deck is among the highest publicly accessible observation points on Earth.

Higher still, the J Hotel Shanghai Tower occupies floors 84 to 110, making it the highest luxury hotel in the world. Guests dine and sleep at altitudes that exceed the rooftops of most other skyscrapers entirely. The tower also contains office floors, retail space at its base, and conference facilities, true to its mixed-use design.

A Trio of Supertall Neighbors

The Shanghai Tower does not stand alone. It forms a dramatic trio with two other supertall skyscrapers in the Lujiazui district of Pudong: the 421-meter Jin Mao Tower, completed in 1999, and the 492-meter Shanghai World Financial Center, finished in 2008 and nicknamed "the bottle opener" for the distinctive trapezoidal aperture near its top. Seen together across the Huangpu River from the Bund, the three towers form one of the most photographed skylines in Asia, a visual timeline of Shanghai's breakneck rise as a global financial hub. To learn more about the country that built them, explore our guide to the flag of China.

Sustainable Design Features

The Shanghai Tower was conceived as a showcase for green skyscraper technology. A system of wind turbines mounted near the crown generates electricity to help power the building's exterior lighting and other systems. The tower harvests rainwater and recycles greywater to reduce its draw on the city supply, and its double-skin facade slashes energy use for climate control. Combined with high-efficiency lighting and a cogeneration plant, these measures earned the building top-tier green certifications and made it a model studied by architects designing tall buildings around the world.

Key Facts

• Tallest in Shanghai and China: 632 m (2,073 ft), 128 floors
• World ranking: Third-tallest building on Earth
• Signature feature: Twisting form rotating 120 degrees, cutting wind load by 24%
• Elevators: Among the world's fastest at 20.5 m/s (46 mph)
• Observation deck: Floors 118–119 at 546 m above ground
• Highest hotel: J Hotel Shanghai Tower, floors 84–110
• Location: Lujiazui finance district, Pudong, Shanghai

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the tallest building in Shanghai?

The tallest building in Shanghai is the Shanghai Tower, which stands 632 meters (2,073 feet) tall with 128 floors. Completed in 2015, it is also the tallest building in China and the third-tallest in the world.

Is the Shanghai Tower the tallest building in the world?

No. The Shanghai Tower is the third-tallest building in the world. The Burj Khalifa in Dubai (828 m) is the tallest, followed by Merdeka 118 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (679 m). The Shanghai Tower remains the tallest building in China.

Can you visit the top of the Shanghai Tower?

Yes. The public observation deck on floors 118 and 119 sits 546 meters above ground and is reached by some of the world's fastest elevators. On clear days the view extends more than 40 kilometers across Shanghai.

Why does the Shanghai Tower have a twisting shape?

The 120-degree twist is an engineering solution as much as an aesthetic one. The spiraling form reduces wind loads on the structure by about 24 percent, which lowered the amount of structural steel required and helped the building withstand the typhoons that periodically reach the East China coast.