China Travel

Completed in 2008 and currently the tallest building in Shanghai, not to mention China, the Shanghai World Financial Center stands as a kind of exclamation point tacked on to the end of the astonishing period of economic growth and construction that has transformed the Lujiazui district of Pudong, the east bank of the Huangpu River, from mudflats, warehouses and farms into one of the world's most identifiable skylines.

And though one might well wonder whether the 492-meter SWFC, which overshadows the distinctive pagoda-meets-the-Empire-State-Building profile of the Jin Mao Tower, won't prove to be the final punctuation mark in Shanghai's remarkable 20-year story of hyper-growth as economic high tides recede, the optimists planning to build Shanghai's next tallest building, the controversial 600+ meter Shanghai Tower, clearly feel otherwise. Time will tell. 

Regardless, if you're up for a wait and don't mind the RMB 100-150 fee (the price goes up with the floor level), the views from the SWFC observation decks located on the 94th, 97th and 100th floors are guaranteed to wow. If you opt to take free elevator up to the 100 Century Avenue's restaurants between the 91st and 93rd floors, you still get the view—with the added pleasure of having a bit of extra money to put toward food and drink. 

And if you want to spend scads of money for the privilege of sleeping in the world's tallest hotel, the sumptuous Park Hyatt Shanghai (79th-93rd floors) is the only place that fits the bill.

Buildings this big tend to draw controversy, and the Japanese-funded WFC is no stranger. The trapezoidal opening at the top was originally slated to be an elegant circle—until Shanghai government officials objected that the plan would effectively raise an enormous rising sun, the Japanese national symbol, over the city that Japan bombed and occupied during World War II.

Designed by the firm Kohn Pedersen Fox, the SWFC is a definitive and monumental testament to Shanghai's most recent boom years and, though not as architecturally significant as the Jin Mao or oldie-but-goodie Oriental Pearl Tower, its observation decks and sheer size recommend it.