The Oriental Pearl Tower (468m) is the highest TV and radio tower in Asia and the third tallest in the world. It was built in 1994 and soon became Shanghai's landmark.  It was completed on Oct. 1, 1994. It is 468 m high, being the highest in Asia and the third highest in the world, only next the TV towers in Toronto in Canada and Moscow in Russia. It stands opposite to the bund on the west bank.

The Oriental Pearl TV Tower is the symbol of Pudong (which means west Shanghai). You can enjoy the views at 90 m, 267 and 351 m. It is quite a puzzle which elevator takes you to the next level, it is not always clear. At the first floor there is a great museum, wich gives you an idea of how live in Shanghai was as from around 1920 onwards. They show the different ways of transport, the shops one could find in Shanghai, the houses the Europeans lived in and the daily live.

The architectural modeling of the tower is unique, expressing the flavor of oriental culture. The structure of the tower consists of 11 spheres, different in sizes and arranged at different levels, hanging from the sky down to the green lawns. It expresses the artistic concept of pearls, big and small, dropping on a jade plate. The body of the tower is formed of two huge glittering spheres and one small delicate sphere; the sightseeing level in the upper sphere is 45 m in circumference, 263 m high, offering a bird's-eye view of the city.

In the upper sphere at the 267-m level, there is a revolving restaurant, with one revolution every hour, a disco ball, a piano accompanied bar and at the 271-m level there are 20 KTV private rooms. The space cabin is at a level of 350 m, containing a sightseeing terrace, a meeting hall and a coffee room. Hotel in the Air is in the five smaller sphere with 20 guest rooms. The lower sphere contains a space city. There is a science fiction city inside the tower pedestal. The Oriental Pearl TV Tower combines sightseeing, catering, shopping, recreation, accommodation, broadcasting and TV transmission into one body. It has become a symbolic architecture and a favorable spot for tourists in Shanghai.

The design for the Pearl tower includes 11 spheres (or 'pearls') and three gigantic columns linking the green grass below to the blue sky above.

Six high-speed elevators take passengers up to the bubbles of the tower, for a great view over the city.

Address: No. 1 Century Avenue
Tel: 8621- 5879-1888 (Chinese and English services)
Hours: 9am - 9pm
Tickets: 70 yuan (sight-seeing hall), 85 yuan (to the second sphere), 135 yuan (to the space module)
Access: Metro line 2 (Lujiazui Station)

Tours to the Oriental Pearl TV Tower