Shanghai: Living the 'High Life'

I had to go to a conference in Shanghai - the official hotel of which was the AMAZING Grand Hyatt, Shanghai -- @ the time of writing, it is the World's highest hotel (although it'll be surpassed in December by another hotel also in Shanghai).

The Grand Hyatt us in the 'Jin Mao Tower' which literally translates as the "Golden Prosperity Building". It is an 88-story landmark supertall skyscraper in the Lujiazui area of the Pudong district of Shanghai. I stayed on the 56th floor! Stunning views (although a bit smoggy) as you can see.

Until 2007, this was the tallest building in China, it is the fifth tallest in the world by roof height and the seventh tallest by pinnacle height. Along with the Oriental Pearl Tower, (that building with the 'balls' above), it is a centerpiece of the Pudong skyline. Its height was surpassed on September 14, 2007 by the Shanghai World Financial Center - where the highest hotel will be.

Its design draws on traditional Chinese architecture such as the tiered pagoda, gently stepping back to create a rhythmic pattern as it rises. Like the Petronas Towers in Malaysia, the building's proportions revolve around the number 8, associated with prosperity in Chinese culture. The 88 floors (93 if the spire floors are counted) are divided into 16 segments, each of which is 1/8th shorter than the 16-story base. The tower is built around an octagon-shaped concrete shear wall core surrounded by 8 exterior composite supercolumns and 8 exterior steel columns. The building was officially opened on August 28, 1998, a date also chosen with the number 8 in mind!

Shanghai Grand Hyatt

The five-star, 555-room Shanghai Grand Hyatt hotel occupies floors 53 to 87. As I said, is the highest hotel in the world in terms of distance from the ground, and amusingly, boasts the world's longest laundry chute (which runs down the full length of the tower to the basement, and incorporates buffers to slow down the laundry during its fall!).

The hotel has a giddy-making and famous barrel-vaulted atrium which starts at the 56th floor and extends upwards to the 87th. I swam in the hotel's infinity pool which, being on the 57th floor, makes it the world's highest swimming pool. Weird swimming 57 floors up I can tell you.

I was looking forward to cocktails in 'Cloud 9', the world's highest bar
- but I was disappointed. The place had little atmosphere, the air conditioning was freezing and it was full of backpacking tourists. Call me a snob, but I imagined a more rarified feel to it. I since found out that it is chosen by some visitors as a comfortable alternative to the observation deck above as the lowest-priced drinks are the same price as the admission to the deck!

All in all, an interesting experience however you look at it.

M