Taipei 101 Skyscraper

Visiting Taipei, you definitely don’t want to miss the tallest building in Taiwan which was also the world tallest skyscraper from 2004 to January 4th, 2010, when the opening of Burj Khalifa in Dubai took place. Taipei 101 has served as an icon of modern Taiwan. It consists of 101 floors above the ground and 5 floors underground. Taipei 101 is also known as “Taipei World Financial Center” and a multi-level shopping mall with hundreds of fashionable stores, restaurants and clubs.

The ticket booth and lift entrance are located on the 5th floor of the building. We purchased the tickets priced at NT 400 (around US $11) per person to ride on the world’s fastest elevator to the 89th floor, the Indoor Observatory. Visitors were greeted friendly by the staff. Compliance to the rules was also firmly. I saw a visitor who was asked to throw away the chewing gum before he was able to line up for the elevator. Lockers are also provided to the guests who have the larger carry-on.

This is the world’s fastest, high-speed pressurized elevator, reaching speeds of 1,010 meters per minutes. It only takes 37 seconds to go from the 5th floor to the 89th floor. No dizziness feeling at all. You can also watch the animated sky scene on the roof of the elevator while you are being lifted.

On the 88th and 89th floor, the world’s largest and heaviest wind damper can be observed with a closer view. This damper is designed to keep the building not to swing too much from the strong wind or earthquake. The building would only be swamp 150 cm the most if those situations occur! Here is the Damper’s fact sheet- “World’s biggest passive wind damper, with a diameter of 5.5 meters and weighing 660 metric tons. The damper was made of 41 layers of 12.5 cm thick solid steel plate, at a cost of more than NT 132 million.”

The damper is suspended from 92th floor to 88th floor. (Illustration is done by Someformofhuman) The damper indeed is a giant round figure when compared with a human size; however, it looks so tiny if you looked through the skyscraper!

The Indoor Observatory on the 89th floor offers visitors a commanding view of the city and Taipei Basin in all directions. Taipei is surrounded by the rivers and mountains. Choose a clear sky day to go up here; you would be surprised by what you can see!

Taipei is the capital of Taiwan and is also a home to an estimated 2,619,920 people (March, 2009).

The world’s highest jewelry arts boutique is located on the 88th floor-“Treasure Sky”. Lots of precious coral gemstone arts and jewelry are displayed and sold on this floor. Strolling and enjoying the art gallery, I totally forgot that I was on the floor of 438 meters in height. It is also very interesting to see the world’s tallest building’s mailboxes (2004) which are located on the 89th floor! Don’t forget to send your friend a postcard through this world tallest building’s mailbox!

To go up to the 91th floor of the Outdoor Observatory, take the stairs from the 89th floor. It offers the expansive outside view and close view of the spire at the top of the building. Be careful of the strong wind and the sharp metal sound created by the wind hitting the metal fences. This Outdoor Observatory only opens if weather permits.

Although Taipei 101 is now the second tallest skyscraper in the world, it had so many world record figures inside this building. It is the symbol where the earth and the sky meet in Taiwan. Through launching of fireworks, it takes people in Taiwan to the bright and shinning new years.

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