The striking China World Tower has emerged to dominate Beijing's skyline and attract local and multinational companies looking for top-grade office premises.
Rising to 330 metres, the newly completed, 81-storey commercial tower provides office, shopping, dining, entertainment and world-class hotels in the central business district (CBD).
Now, it's the tallest building in the capital, comprising 46 levels of grade A offices and the China World Mall. The top zone of the building will house a luxury hotel. Architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill worked out the tower's concept design.
Tan Jee Long, director of China World Trade Centre Corporation, says: 'We wanted a unique and iconic building as a landmark for the CBD, which will raise Beijing's profile internationally and put the city on the world map.'
The new tower's completion will make the China World Trade Centre project one of the biggest integrated complexes on the mainland, spanning 1.3 million square metres. It is the only complex in Beijing which boasts more than 300 Fortune 500 companies.
Nigel Smith, executive director of office services for Asia at CB Richard Ellis, the project's marketing consultant, says the China World Trade Centre is a well-established complex with a cluster of local and multinational companies, and the rents fetched by its offices set the benchmark for the top-of-the-range office market in Beijing.