The Impressive Buildings of Shanghai

When I visited Shanghai in June 2008 with friends, the weather was quite rainy and I don't remember that we ever really had clear air with which to reliably view the skyline and buildings. Yesterday, however, was a perfect day in Shanghai so I walked around, armed with a camera, and tried to find some good shots for the Shanghai landmark buildings.

First, my Shanghai babies. These are some of the awesomest buildings that I know of: the Jinmao Tower (left) and the Shanghai World Financial Center (SWFC; right).

A year ago before I left Shanghai, I stopped in Pudong where the buildings and, essentially, the famous Shanghai skyline are located and I travelled up to the 88th floor of the Jinmao Tower to have a cocktail. According to Wikipedia, as of 2007 it was 70 RMB to go to the 88th floor observation deck of Jinmao, but I found another way to enjoy the top of the tower: head to the cocktail lounge on the 87th. Instead of using the express elevators, head to the hotel entrance and take the elevator up to the Grand Hyatt lobby where, incidentally, you'll have a great view from the bottom of the famous 30+ story lobby that rises through the inside of the skyscraper. The cocktail I had at the top was about 90 RMB a year ago -- roughly $15, probably the same as one would spend for a cocktail at an upscale place in Manhattan.

As for the SWFC, from what I gathered yesterday you have at least three (tourist-priced) options of getting a good view. You can choose to go to the 94th floor (perhaps 50 RMB), or the 97th floor (100 RMB), or to the 100th floor (150 RMB). I may or may not decide to splurge and head to the top, which opened just at the end of August and seems to house the world's highest observation deck at 474 meters. But I wonder if there's a free way to get almost to the top ...


A view up the straight side of the SWFC:


Here's a view as the sun heads far to the west:


And here's a view with the Oriental Pearl TV Tower and the buildings to the north-east of it: