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The China Daily has issued a damning verdict on the construction of the new 632 meter Shanghai Tower — soon to be China's tallest skyscraper. It says that with the new tower, "blind worship and race for skyscrapers has reached a new high" and that the 121 storey tower will be a "milestone in turning Shanghai into a less pleasant concrete jungle". The opinion piece (God knows who it was written by as no byline was supplied) then sought to substantiate with a litany of reasons why the Shanghai Tower would be a bad idea: (1) Shanghai is sinking, and a new skyscraper isn't going to help; (2) Traffic in Lujiazui is congested enough and a new building is going to make rush hours all the more "nightmarish"; (3) The "urban heat island effect" is going to make Shanghai feel even more like a sauna in summers; (4) Skyscrapers are vulnerable to attacks and disasters; (5) The economic risk of building the Shanghai Tower will be shared by various state-owned enterprises and the money could be "better spent elsewhere"; (6) Shanghai should instead save its old buildings from demolition; (7) Shanghai's public transportation sucks. Why not spend more money there? (8) It also has the fastest graying population in China and should build more facilities to cater to the elderly. In conclusion, China Daily judged super skyscrapers like the Shanghai Tower to be "not a priority for Shanghai" and that it "could cause more harm than add to its glamor". Such words of wisdom.
China Daily not hot on the Shanghai Tower
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These skyscrapers are pure megalomania and not sensible at all, but so damn cool to look at!
No, No, No! We want our new skyscraper...
Weird and unharmonious article. What's up with China Daily?
It looks like another episode of the Shanghai - Beijing CCP feud. It is very Hu Jin Tao to bash a Shanghai mega project and speak for more social priorities.
Hmm, perhaps we are going to be seeing some more corruption arrests these days...
I, for one, have finally found a China Daily editorial I agree with.
Besides, lots of editorials are unsigned - like every single one written in the Economist. No one criticizes that practice, do they?
"It looks like another episode of the Shanghai - Beijing CCP feud. It is very Hu Jin Tao to bash a Shanghai mega project and speak for more social priorities."
Exactly! This explains the reason why the editorial is in the magazine.
As for what the editorial says, I think the criticisms are probably on target. Does Shanghai really need another skyscraper to enhance its reputation, and would this skyscraper provide other benefits, such as alleviating a lack of office space (which I imagine is plentiful in Pudong)? Is it being built only to get a one-up on Taipei 101 or any other tall building, or is it really a sensible project.
It's way too cool not to build. If it were an ugly eyesore like Burj Dubai, then no. But this one is spectacular and needs to go up ASAP!
This is not private money. Itt's funded by three State companies. It's taxpayers' money. Ask taxpayers before doing this gigantic vanity project.
What we are lacking is human resources in becoming a world financial hub, not highrises. We already built more than NYC or London.... Why officials and so many people cannot get this. The only thing they can think of making Shanghai a financial hub is highrise buildings and more highrise buildings...