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Oriental Pearl TV Tower

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Dongfang Mingzhuta, or Pearl of the Orient Tower, is a 468-meter-high communications tower, making it the highest tower in Asia, and the third-highest tower in the world. Pearl of the Orient Tower is located in Shanghai's Pudong Park in the financial district of Lujiazui, on the edge of Pudong District, just across the Huangpu River from the Bund. The tower is located - on a north-south axis, roughly - in between Shanghai's two downtown Huangpu River bridges, the Yangpu to the northeast and the Nanpu to the southwest. Construction on the tower was commenced in 1991. From its completion in 1994 until 2007, Pearl of the Orient Tower was also the tallest structure in China, period, but in 2007 the tower was surpassed by Shanghai's World Financial Center, the city's answer to New York City's former World Trade Center, which was the highest structure on the NYC skyline before its twin towers (albeit not "towers" in the sense of a communications tower) were destroyed in the 9/11 attacks.

Pearl of the Orient Tower has a unique shape, with a number (11 to be exact) of bulbous spheres punctuating the tower's various sections as it ascends skyward, suggesting both an Islamic minaret and the typical bulbous dome of a mosque, here repeated over and over again in decreasingly smaller sizes as the tower rises skyward, its vertical sections correspondingly decreasing in diameter. The Chinese architect, however, sees these "bulbs" as pearls, but even the architect cannot prevent onlookers from making their own associations regarding the tower's appearance, though all can agree that, seen in its totality, the tower is a thing of beauty, especially when lit up at night, and thus is truly a 'pearl of the Orient'.

The "bulbs", or "pearls", which in fact are steel spheres, or globes, are supposed to relate to a Tang (CE 618-907) Dynasty poem, the Pipa Song, composed by Bai Juyi. The poem concerns the crisp, twinkling sound of the pipa (a four-stringed lute), or the sound of 'pearls, big and small, dropping on a plate'. Bulbous or pearl-shaped when viewed from the outside, the steel globes nevertheless take on an entirely different aspect when viewed from the inside: they resemble something out of the Stanley Kubrick film, 2001: A Space Odyssey. In fact, a couple of these globes have names suggesting space and space travel, namely the highest globe, at 350 meters, called the Space Module, and the lowest globe, called Space City, at 90 meters. The second-highest globe is a revolving restaurant, offering an unparalleled view of the city, which is especially beautiful at night. The three-legged tower rests on giant pillars that are buried beneath the surface, making the tripod base of Pearl of the Orient Tower exceptionally stable.

The quarter-mile-high commercial interior of the tower houses a variety of activities, from a hotel near the top to a restaurant to a recreational palace - with a futuristic space center - to shops and cafés, and it even has a historical museum. On almost any level above the lowest globe, one can get a sensational view of the city as it stretches out toward the horizon, and, of course, the higher the vantage point, the more one can take in.

The large plaza surrounding the tower's base makes it a popular place for tourists to throng, not unlike the way tourists throng about the base of Paris' Eiffel Tower. Also as with the Eiffel Tower, the base of the Pearl of the Orient Tower has become a favorite nighttime venue for lovers and other wistful souls "wishing you were here".

 

• Riverside Avenue: Riverside Avenue is located on a road along Huangpu River in the Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone, right beside the Oriental Pearl TV and Radio Tower. Opposite is the Bund of Shanghai.
  Tickets: free of charge
  Hours: 8:00 am – 11:00 pm
  Tips: On one end of Riverside Avenue, visitors can take a ferry to the Bund of Shanghai which is on the opposite side of Riverside Avenue. It is both cheap and convenient to take a ferry there.
   
• Shanghai Ocean Aquarium: Shanghai Ocean Aquarium is next to the Oriental Pearl TV and Radio Tower and Jin Mao Tower. It is a landmark of cultural tourism in the city district of Pudong as well.
  Tickets: 135 RMB for adults, 90 RMB for children between 80 and 140 centimeters tall; 70 RMB for the elderly aged above 70 years, servicemen and the disabled
  Telephone: 021-58779988
  Hours: 9:00 am – 5:30 pm, 9:00 am – 8:30 pm on golden weeks (Spring Festival Week and National Day Week) and during the summer
   
• Shanghai World Financial Center
  Tickets: 100 RMB to get to the 94th floor, 110 RMB to get to the 97th floor, 150 RMB to get to the 100th floor
  Hours: 8:00 am – 11:00 pm
  Telephone: 021-58780101
   
• Shanghai International Convention Center: The Shanghai International Convention Center is situated on Riverside Avenue in Pudong, facing the famous architectural complex of the Bund across Huangpu River. Paired with its neighbors the Oriental Pearl TV and Radio Tower, Jin Mao Tower, and Shanghai World Financial Center, the four compose the famous skyline of Lujiazui.
  Tickets: 50 RMB for individual travelers, 45 RMB per person in a touring party of more than 20 (the touring party must make an appointment 3 to 4 days beforehand), 25 RMB for children below 120 centimeters tall and the elderly aged above 70 years
  Hours: 8:30 am – 4:30 pm
  Telephone: 021-50370000
   
• Jin Mao Tower: Jin Mao Tower stands in the most prosperous part of the Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone of the Pudong new district area. It also faces the famous Bund of Shanghai across Huangpu River.
  Tickets: 88 RMB for adults, 45 RMB for children, 60 RMB for students, 70 RMB for the elderly aged above 70 years
  Hours: 8 00 am – 10:00 pm
  Telephone: 021-50475101
   
• Lujiazui Central Park: Located at the exit of the Yanan East Road Tunnel, Lujiazui Central Park covers an area of 100,000 square meters (10 hectares) and is at the very center of the Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone. The park is the largest open lawn in Shanghai, earning it the name of “the green lung in the city”.
  Tickets: free of charge
  Hours: 8:00 am – 10:00 pm
  Telephone: 021-58875487

Location:

Pearl of the Orient Tower is located at No.1 Century Blvd, Pudong Park, in the financial district of Lujiazui, just across the Huangpu River from the Bund.

Ticket Price:

The admission price varies depending on how much one wishes to see of the tower's interior. A ticket to the Sightseeing Hall at 263 meters' height costs 50 Yuan, a ticket to the second lowest globe, which also gives access to the Shanghai Municipal History Museum, costs 85 Yuan, while a ticket to all three of the "tourist globes" (the lowest three globes, the top one of which houses the Sightseeing Hall) costs 100 Yuan.

Opening Time:

From 8:00AM to 9:30PM, daily.

How to get there:

From within the city, you can take Pearl Bus nos. 870, 871 and 872 or Municipal Bus nos. 81 and 82. Of course, if your hotel lies in a different section of the city and you plan to take a Huangpu River cruise, you can always get off at the pier nearest the Bund, then catch one of the aforementioned buses in the direction of Lujiazui Financial District. Just tell anyone on the bus that your destination is the Pearl of the Orient Tower (you might want to memorize its Pinyin name, Dongfang Mingzhuta), and they can tell you where to get off.

Tips:

 

Remember to swallow frequently on the elevator ride up!