Guangzhou planning to build world's highest amusement ride

Guangzhou will build an amusement ride that it claims will be the highest in the world as the city gears up to host the Asian Games next year. The claim is based on the fact that it will be atop a 450-metre skyscraper.

Although Bryan Chan of Colliers International, the consultant in charge of the tower project, called it a Ferris wheel yesterday, it is not one in the strict sense, as it will be horizontal and consist of 16 glass capsules, each 3.2 metres in diameter, running on a track along the circumference of the Guangzhou TV tower in the city's central business district, Zhujiang New Town.

Also on the tower's roof will be a 164-metre TV mast, making the building the tallest structure in Asia at 614 metres. A 629 metre transmitting mast in North Dakota is the world's tallest structure on land.

Guangzhou Television Station, the project's developer, has invested 150 million yuan (HK$170 million) on the tower and the wheel so far.

The tallest traditional Ferris wheel in Asia is the Singapore Flyer, which reaches a height of 165 metres off the ground.

Visitors will see a panoramic view of Guangzhou from the capsules, which will each carry four to six people. A single rotation will take between 20 and 40 minutes.

Construction will start in November. It is expected the work will be completed next February, and safety tests will be conducted before the attraction opens in October next year. The Asian Games are scheduled for November 12 to 27, 2010.