The Oriental Pearl Tower in Lujiazui was designed by Shanghai Modern Architectural Design, and the article calls it a futurist TV tower. Construction began on July 30, 1991. The body was capped on December 14, 1993, the antenna was raised on Labour Day 1994, and the tower was completed on November 18, 1994. It opened to the public on May 1, 1995.
The tower is 1,535 feet (468 m) high, with the top floor at 1,152 feet (351 m). Three large spheres are joined by three pillars, with an integral steel frame covered in concrete tiles and laminated red glass. On soft soil, large concrete pillars were driven deep, a technique later used at Jin Mao Tower.
It has fifteen observatory levels, some with glass floors, plus a revolving restaurant, an indoor roller coaster and museums. A 20-room hotel sits between the spheres. It was China's tallest structure from 1994 to 2007.
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