Shanghai high-rise topped off

SHANGHAI, China – After more than a decade of delays, China’s tallest building is slicing through Shanghai’s hazy, skyscraper-studded skyline – a new trophy built by a Japanese property tycoon.

The 101-story Shanghai World Financial Center, a 1,614-foot wedge-shaped tower with a rectangular hole at the top, was completed today as its last beam was laid amid a drizzle that obscured the building’s panoramic view of endless high-rises.

In a city whose skyline evinces the belief “the taller the better,” the building is bound to be a major tourist destination and landmark.

With China’s economy growing nearly 12 percent a year and stock and real estate prices soaring, “the timing is just about the best it could be,” said the builder, Minoru Mori.

“When I saw the building this morning, at its full height, I thought it’s really beautiful. I think we’ve really succeeded,” Mori told reporters at Shanghai’s Jinmao Tower, a silver spire next door to the World Financial Center that at 1,381 feet was China’s tallest building until now.

The tower, buttressed by a conference center and shopping mall, will eventually house 70 floors of office space meant to accommodate 12,000 people, with a hotel, restaurants and an observatory at the top.