Yet another tallest skyscraper for Shanghai?

We told you about Shanghai's skyscraper envy. Now, the World Financial Center has barely been completed but our wonderful city has already announced plans for yet another skyscraper that will dwarf it. Two days ago, the all-authoritative Xinhua produly proclaimed that the new building, which is to be named Shanghai Center (we are unsure if this has any relation to the existing Shanghai Center) will be the world's tallest at 580 meters and 118 stories. According to them, that's 72 meters higher than the Taipei 101 Tower, currently the tallest building in Asia at 508 meters and "25 meters higher than the 555-meter-tall Burj Dubai skyscraper, which is still under construction".
555 meters? As far as we understand, the developers behind Burj Dubai are keeping the final height of the building tightly under wraps, because they don't want anyone else to steal their thunder. A more likely answer to the mystery is 807.7m (see picture above from China Daily) which has often been bandied about. At almost 300 meters taller than Taipei 101, that is upping the ante quite a bit, and still they're not leaving anything to chances!
But that doesn't mean China won't spring any surprise to make sure it will maintain bragging rights. As far as we can tell, the officials seem to be just as secretive about their latest project and we have seen too many conflicting reports on both the Chinese and English internet to be sure what's true and what's not. Compare for instance the artist's impression above to the ones below:

Photos from xmnext.com via sohu.com
The building on the left is supposed to be designed by Chicago-based Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and the one on the right is supposedly by New York-based Kohn Pedersen Fox. Whoever it is, we are assuming the second design lost its bid because nobody is going to trust any architectural firm that can get the relative heights of the Jinmao versus the WFC so, so wrong!
More on Shanghai Center from China Daily
:Taking up 20,300 sq m, the Shanghai Center is expected to house offices, hotels and shopping malls as well as recreational facilities, complementing the two neighboring buildings with more office space for financial institutions and companies as the district sees an increasing inflow of foreign capital.According to a recent survey on office requirements of foreign firms in Shanghai conducted by Mori Building Co, office quality is becoming increasingly important when financial companies seek expansion. The survey also found that Lujiazui remains the most popular office location in Shanghai.
"Competition over the world's tallest building seems inevitable as the city moves steadfastly to become a world-class financial center," Michiho Kishi, deputy general manager of public relations at Mori Building Co, the real estate developer behind SWFC, told China Daily.
Related links:
Xinhua: Construction of high-rise "Shanghai Center" to start
Xinmin Evening News: 上海中心预计上半年奠基 高度几何尚无定论(图)
China Daily: Shanghai draws up plan for nation's tallest building
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