The Oriental Pearl is a television tower in Shanghai. Its location along the Huangpu River at Lujiazui Point in Pudong New Area, opposite the Bund, makes it a unique landmark in the area. Its main designers are Jiang Huan Chen, Lin Benlin and Zhang Xiulin. Construction began on July 30, 1991, was completed on October 1, 1994, and was commissioned on May 1, 1995.
History of the pearl tower in Shanghai
Planning
On August 25, 1983, considering the overflowing situation of the existing TV tower at that time, the idea of building a new TV tower was first proposed on the show. On November 17 of the same year, the “Sixth Five-Year Plan” and the “Seventh Five-Year Plan” for the development of radio and television in Shanghai clearly proposed the construction of a 400-meter-tall television tower in the Lujiazui area. Vision for the next ten years.
On March 25, 1984, the proposal to build a new television tower was officially presented in a congressional report. Later in 1984, the proposal was approved. After repeated inspections and studies, considering the echo with the Bund across the Huangpu River, the site was finally determined to be between Lujiazui and Pudong Park.
On August 23 in 1984, the Shanghai Radio and Television Bureau officially released a site selection report. In October 1986, a report was finalized and presented to the State Planning Commission, with a preliminary construction height of 450 meters (1,480 ft). In January 1987, the report was approved. In January 1988, the Shanghai Television and Radio Bureau submitted a feasibility report for the TV tower, which was approved in July.
Construction
Construction In 1991, on July 30, the muse of the Oriental Pearl TV Tower was formally laid and production started out.
December 14, 1993, covering 350 m of 3D structure (excluding antennas). Construction took only 27 months, 105 days ahead of schedule. 00:12
On May 1, 1994, the world’s first steel antenna with a length of 110 meters and a weight of 450 tons was successfully installed after 11 days of lifting.
20th century
On May 1, 1995, the Oriental Pearl TV Tower held a groundbreaking ceremony and was officially opened to the public. Launch the first signal, first broadcast 5 sets of TV programs and 5 sets of FM radio to the public.
In 1995, 15 heads of foreign governments visited the tower. In the final days of the year, the Oriental Pearl TV Tower was ranked among the top ten new landscapes in Shanghai.
In 1996, 35 heads of foreign governments and 30 groups of international minister-level government officials visited the tower.
In 1999, Oriental Pearl TV Tower won the first prize in the Shanghai Excellent Design Award and the Zhan Tianyou Award for China Civil Engineering
21st century
In May 2001, the Shanghai Urban History Extension Exhibition Hall opened on the ground floor of the Oriental Pearl TV Tower.
In 2004, the tower underwent an energy-efficient renovation of the lighting system, replacing old light sources with LEDs.
On May eight, 2007, the Oriental Pearl TV Tower was accepted via the National Tourism Administration as an AAAAA-stage countrywide tourist appeal.
Observation levels Oriental Pearl Tower
The tower has fifteen stories of observation decks. The tallest (called the space module)
measures 351 meters. The lower floors are located at 263m (viewing platform) and 90m. There is a revolving restaurant 267 meters away. The project also includes exhibition facilities and a small shopping center. The upper observation deck has an outdoor area with a 1.5-inch glass floor.
The Pearls on A Jade Plate
The state-of-the-art Pearl Tower has a unique architectural design and concept, integrating the symbol of traditional Chinese pearls with future technological, commercial, entertainment and educational resources. The tower is made of eleven steel balls of different sizes, “stretched” on three huge pillars, and the pillars stand like a tripod on lush green grass, just like the image of pearls shining on a jade plate. At night, the tower is lit up with bright LED lights, a sight that justifies its listing as a scenic spot by the National Tourism Administration.
About Activities at Oriental Pearl Tower
The towers host an incredible variety of business and entertainment events offering adventure, thrills, heights and adrenaline, housed in different spheres and columns.
The tower has fifteen floors of observatories: the tallest space capsule at 351 meters; the Sky Plaza observation deck at 263 meters; the lowest, Space City, at 90 meters. The upper observation deck features an observation deck with a transparent floor, offering a dazzling view of Shanghai.
The pearl at the top includes restaurants and shops, including a revolving restaurant.
The Shanghai History Museum is situated at the foot of the tower, and a sci-fi city is located at the bottom of the building. A 25-room space hotel is spread over five smaller spheres between the two larger spheres in the center of the tower.
There are play city and exhibition facilities with a playground and a space-themed roller coaster 100 meters above the ground. The lower large sphere has a futuristic space city with a multimedia exhibition of “Future Shanghai” and an observation room overlooking the Yangtze River.
Basic Information about Oriental Pearl Tower
Ticket price: different packages contain different scenic spots – deluxe package, super value package, advanced package, standard package
- start opening: 08:00-22:00 (no entry at 21:30)
Recommended hotels in Oriental Pearl Tower
- Grand Kempinski Hotel Shanghai (0.5 Km away)
- Oriental Riverside Bund View Hotel (0.3 Km away)
- The Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Pudong (0.4 Km away)
- Pudong Shangri-La, East Shanghai (0.5 Km away)
- IFC Residence (0.4 Km away)
Shanghai Oriental Pearl Tower Facts
- At 468 meters tall, the Oriental Pearl TV Tower is Shanghai’s third-tallest building in 2021, having held the title of Shanghai’s tallest building for 16 consecutive years prior to 2008.
- The Oriental Pearl TV Tower is mostly made up of spherical structures. The roof heights of the two largest spheres are 300 meters and 120 meters, respectively. The upper sphere has a diameter of 45 meters and the lower sphere is slightly larger with a diameter of 50 meters. Meters.
- The Oriental Pearl Shanghai TV Tower is not just a broadcast tower. It has several functions in addition to broadcasting. One is for viewing and the other is for sightseeing. There are several floors in the tower that are viewing platforms. The details of the viewing platforms are as follows become.
- The Oriental Pearl Shanghai Tower has 4 floors as an observation deck, offering a 360-degree view of Shanghai.
- The tower weighs 120,000 tons, roughly equivalent to 80,000 cars. The tower has 7 elevators, and the elevators move at 7m per second, which is very fast for a tower built in the 90s. 10m per second.
