Shanghai Tower, China’s tallest skyscraper, soars into the record books

China’s tallest skyscraper – and second worldwide – has started trial operations, with its hyperfast lifts shooting passengers 119 floors in under a minute, mainland media reports.

The Shanghai Tower, which looms 632 metres above the Lujiazui Central Business District in China’s largest city, is a symbol of the country’s economic success.

It took its builder, state-owned Shanghai Construction Group and US-based architecture firm Gensler, more than seven years starting in 2008 to complete the exterior of the building, with the project cost amassing to about 15.7 billion yuan (HK$18.7 billion).

While the building’s interior is still being fitted out, visitors can now ride three lifts that travel 18 metres a second – outpacing those in Taipei 101, thought to hold the current record for world’s fastest elevators – to observation decks on the 119th floor in only 55 seconds, according to the Liberation Daily newspaper.

The three hyperfast lifts are among a total of 154 lifts in the tower. Designers told the Shanghai-based newspaper that their special rails and aerodynamic shapes curb noise and vibrations while moving.