Shanghai – Which tower to choose in Pudong to climb to see the best panoramic views

Visit the financial area of Pudong, during your sightseeing trip to Shanghai, riding a China, is synonymous with visiting big skyscrapers and climb high-altitude viewpoints to enjoy impressive panoramic views of the city.

Below I am going to detail three options for towers you can climb, all very close to each other.

1. Oriental Pearl TV Tower

One of the iconic buildings of the Pudong financial zone is Oriental Pearl TV Tower, which is an unmistakable symbol of modern shanghai city, riding a China.

Built in 1995, with a height of 468 meters, the Oriental Pearl TV Tower It is the tallest communications tower in all of Asia, and is the third highest in the world.

As soon as we arrive at the center of Shanghai and head towards the port area of ​​the Huangpu River, it is easy to spot the fine and striking figure of the Oriental Pearl TV Tower. And from the riverside viewpoints in the Bund area we can see the great beauty of this super-modern tower.

The architectural design of this tower is based on a succession of spheres, up to 15, and three main columns, which lead to the large upper sphere, where there is a gazebo or with a spinning reataurant.

Bliss upper sphere is rotatable, which allows us to do a complete tour in one hour, and thus be able to enjoy the incredible panoramic views of the city of Shanghai.

To go up to the upper sphere there is five elevators, and then there is a sixth elevator that from the large upper sphere goes up to the small sphere located at the highest height.

Two of the elevators are used by those of us who want to go to the top of the tower to enjoy the panoramic views. With capacity for 30 people each, they go up to a record speed of 7 meters per second, with which we reach the large sphere in just 40 seconds.

In this large sphere of the Oriental Pearl TV Tower We find two floors, the lower one, where the glass viewing points are located, and the upper one, where the restaurant is located.

El schedule to go up to the viewpoints of the communications tower Oriental Pearl TV is from 8,30:21,30 a.m. to XNUMX:XNUMX p.m., and the price of admission  To go up to the viewpoint of the second sphere is 100 CNY (11 euros). If you want to also visit the third sphere, the total price is 135 CNY (15 euros).

How to dine with panoramic views at Shanghai's Oriental Pearl TV Tower

In its upper part there is a restaurant where we can dine while continuing to enjoy those views.

It must be taken into account that the dome is continuously rotating slowly, so that it makes a complete rotation every hour. Therefore, you don't feel the speed and you don't get dizzy at dinner time.

When it gets dark, the general lights of the restaurant are turned off and it is illuminated with candles, so that this semi-darkness will allow us enjoy the night views of Shanghai.

At Oriental Pearl TV Tower restaurant, which opens during the day from 11 a.m. to 14 p.m., and in the evening, from 17 p.m. to 21 p.m., we can enjoy an excellent buffet.

When I had the opportunity to Dine at Shanghai Oriental Pearl TV Tower Restaurant, in 2005, the price per person It did not exceed 15 euros, although now the prices are clearly higher.

El buffet dinner price It is 280 CNY (31 euros), and if you prefer to eat at noon in the restaurant, the price is 200 CNY (22 euros).

2. Jinmao Tower

La Shanghai Jinmao Tower It was inaugurated in 1999, and with a height of 420 meters, it has 88 floors. It was designed by an architectural studio from the United States and became the greatest exponent of China's development towards modernity.

In the construction of Jinmao Tower we wanted to follow the traditional line of chinese pagoda design, so that this great skyscraper shows us an unmistakable image of a very slender pagoda.

The spectacular Jinmao Tower has a lower floor shopping gallery, offices on the middle floors, and its top 38 floors are occupied by the luxurious five-star Grand Hyatt hotel, which was the tallest in the world until the neighboring skyscraper was inaugurated in 2008. World Financial Center, with a hotel from the same Hyatt chain located at a higher altitude.

On the top floor is the Jinmao Tower viewing point, from which they look excellent panoramic views of Shanghai, and which can be accessed by two elevators that take us up at a high speed of nine meters per second, so we arrive in just 45 seconds.

El visiting hours of Jinmao Tower in Shanghai is from 8,30:22 a.m. to XNUMX p.m., and the price of admission (2011) is 88 CNY (10 euros).

3. World Financial Center Tower

In the race in which numerous countries, especially Asian and Middle Eastern countries, are embarked on to build the tallest skyscraper in the world, China took a step further with the construction of the World Financial Center in Shanghai,

In 2008 it was inaugurated in August, and on my trip to that city I was not able to visit because it was under construction.

It is located in the Pudong financial zone, practically glued to the Jinmao Tower, which until the inauguration of the new skyscraper, was the tallest in China and the third in the world.

El World Financial Center skyscraper It has a total height of 492 meters and 101 floors. Between the 79th and 93rd floors is the Hotel Park Hyatt Shanghai, which has surpassed in height the hotel of the same chain that is located in the neighboring Jinmao Tower.

Panoramic viewpoints at the World Financial Center

Construction began in 1997 with the goal of being completed in 2007, but its construction was affected by the Asian financial crisis at the beginning of this century.

Initially it was planned to have a height of 460 meters and 94 floors, but during the time of its construction it was decided to raise its height. It even suffered a small fire in August 2007.

At Shanghai World Financial Center there are three different panoramic viewpoints, on the 94th, 97th and 100th floors.

They can be accessed by paying an entrance fee whose Prices (update 2011) They range from 100 to 150 CNY (11 to 16,7 euros), depending on the viewpoints you want to access.