|
Towering high up in the Pudong New Area, the Oriental Pearl T V Tower, which is located in Pudong Park in Lujiazui, has been the landmark of Shanghai. Standing beside the Huangpu River with a height of 468 meters (1536 feet), it is the tallest TV tower in Asia and the third highest in the world, next to the 553, 33 -meter-high Toronto Tower Canada and the 533 meters high TV Tower in Moscow, Russia. The tower consists of 15 spheres of different size at different levels creating an artistic conception of "large and small pearls dropping onto a jade plate". There is a revolving teahouse and a sightseeing platform, which can accommodate 1600 people in the largest ball.
 
The Oriental Pearl TV Tower started construction in 1992, and with 50 million Yuan in government funds and a combined 150 million Renminbi Yuan and 10 million US Dollars in bank loans from 44 banks, it completed construction and opened to the public in 1994. The tower is referred to by the Chinese as "two dragons playing with a pearl". In 1995 it began broadcasting nine television channels and 10 FM radio channels. The tower is equipped with tourist service facilities, including eateries, shops, recreational centers and a hotel. An elevator whisks visitors to the tower's observational deck at a height of 263 metres, where they can feast their eyes on a panoramic view of Shanghai.
The inner tower is a recreational palace, while the Shanghai Municipal History Museum is located in the tower's pedestal. The large lower sphere has a futuristic space city and a fabulous sightseeing hall. From here, on a clear day a visitor can see all the way to the Yangtze River. The base of the tower is home to a science fantasy city. The five smaller spheres are a hotel that contains twenty-five elegant rooms and lounges. The pearl at the very top of the tower contains shops, restaurants, (including a rotating restaurant) and a sightseeing floor.
Over the past ten years, the tower has received 295 overseas presidents and leaders and 25 million tourists. It has become the world's most profitable TV tower, with annual incomes exceeding those of The Eiffel Tower. With a brand value of 5.148 billion Yuan (US$6.2 billion), the tower was evaluated 96th on the list of the 500 most valuable Chinese brands, and one of the top 20 influential Chinese brands in the world for the year 2003 and 2004, according to the World Brand Lab.
|
pandaadventures.com 
