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mindseye
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A Yankee living in Shanghai
Apr 1999
time: 13:31
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quote:
Originally posted by Drake Tungsten
I like the building the Taiwanese put up as well. Certainly loads better than the monstrosities put up by their mainland counterparts
(image of Oriental Pearl Television Tower)
Ugh...  |
There really are some monstrosities here. I am no fan of the Oriental Pearl Tower, either.
Architectural styles change every couple of years in Shanghai, it's fascinating to watch the compressed time scale of building evolution. Most regrettably, the Oriental Pearl Tower was built during a ~ 3 - 5 year phase I think of as "Chinese Crude Modern". These were the first structures designed after the howling winds of the development hurricaine began. Looks like architects during this period were still using the materials they were most familiar with (i.e. lots and lots of cement- in China, the solution to a good many problems is "concrete"), but suddenly started to experiment with curves and new shapes (i.e. anything other than "box"). The usual result was breathtakingly ugly.
Fortunately, the Oriental Pearl Tower does rather fit in with the futuristic skyline of Pudong, somewhat masking its ugliness. Thank the heavens that the Jin Mao Tower (and soon that Giant Bottle Opener) dominate the Pudong skyline.
However, all that camouflage comes to naught when they throw the switch and turn the thing into a giant disco ball! Yes, it's true! The middle sphere is covered with computer-controlled lights, and on some nights the ball is cloaked in swirling colors and patterns. When the "world's largest disco ball effect" was revealed, a Canadian friend commented "I can't believe they came up with a way to make the Oriental Pearl Tower more garish." On a really special evening, they also switch on the revolving spotlight on the top, you can almost hear "Stayin' Alive" wafting across the cityscape. 
My greatest regret is that the Oriental Pearl Tower somehow became the symbol of Shanghai, thus insuring that it can never easily be torn down. 
Here's a shot (not mine, it's from skyscrapers.com) of some of the towers near the Oriental Pearl. This part of Shanghai is striking, especially on a misty evening.
 Attachment: shanghai3a.jpg
This has been downloaded 76 time(s).
Last edited by mindseye on 19-10-2003 at 01:59
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st_swithin
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10069
Nov 2002
time: 05:31
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quote:
Originally posted by Drake Tungsten
quote:
However, all that camouflage comes to naught when they throw the switch and turn the thing into a giant disco ball! Yes, it's true! The middle sphere is covered with computer-controlled lights, and on some nights the ball is cloaked in swirling colors and patterns. When the "world's largest disco ball effect" was revealed, a Canadian friend commented "I can't believe they came up with a way to make the Oriental Pearl Tower more garish." On a really special evening, they also switch on the revolving spotlight on the top, you can almost hear "Stayin' Alive" wafting across the cityscape. |
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Looks like Times Square has some competition for New Years Eve.
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All times are GMT. The time now is 05:31.
Apolyton Time is 00:31. |
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19-10-2003 01:43
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