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The Canton Tower. Formerly known as Guangzhou TV Astronomical and Sightseeing Tower. Photo By Kxx –

Top 10 Surprising Facts About Guangzhou TV and Sightseeing Tower 

Guangzhou TV and Sightseeing Tower is a 604 meters tall (1,982 ft) multipurpose observation tower in Guangzhou, a large city in southern China.

The city that is also known as Canton is famous for its annual trade fair, The Canton Fair.  

The tower was renamed the Canton Tower in 2010 and held the title of the tallest tower in the world replacing the CN Tower. It was then passed by the Tokyo Skytree. 

It was the tallest structure in China before the Shanghai Tower was completed in 2013. Currently, it is the second tallest tower in China and the fifth-tallest freestanding structure in the world. 

Here are 10 facts about the Canton Tower. 

1. The Tower Has a Unique Feminine Design 

While most skyscrapers bear “male” features by being extrovert, strong, straight, rectangular, and based on repetition, this tower’s architects wanted to create a “female” tower, being complex, transparent, curvy, and gracious. 

Mark Hemel, the designer of the tower, was inspired by the bones of the female hip joint. He created a slim waist in the middle of the tower just as a fair lady twists her waist while looking behind.

The tower’s body gradually shrinks to its midsection before bursting outward at the upper section. 

The thinnest part is on the 66th floor and its diameter is about 30 meters (32 yards). The tower has high-tensile steel as its raw material, with a total weight of only 50,000 tons. 

Just above the waist of the tower, there’s a huge tuned mass damper. This feature was integrated to reduce vibrations during earthquakes and prevent the tower from collapsing.  

2. It is a Multipurpose Observation Tower 

Canton Tower at night. Photo By Zhangzhugang –

The tower is divided into multiple sections each offering a wide variety of entertainment facilities. The lowest zone of the tower, between 80 to 170 meters (260 to 560 feet), is the most crowded. 

It features a 4D cinema, a gaming facility, restaurants, coffee shops, and even outdoor gardens with teahouses. Visitors can buy souvenirs or gifts in the gift shops. 

The part from the waist up features a rotating restaurant and various technical facilities that are used to transmit microwave digital signals as well as radio and TV signals.  

The most popular purpose of the tower is sightseeing and the tower has multiple observation platforms for that. 

3. The Panoramic View from the Rooftop is Stunning

At the 450-meter-high (1476-feet high) rooftop of Canton Tower, visitors can take the world’s highest horizontal Ferris wheel to take a panoramic view of Guangzhou city.  

The track is constructed around the periphery of the roof, with 16 transparent cars (Bubble Tram) seating 4-6 people in each. It takes 20 minutes for the cars to circumnavigate the track.  

The wheel operates from 17:00-22:00 daily, and the price is 130 yuan per person for the ride only. The admission fee to the Canton Tower is not included in the ride fee. 

Ticket prices for the different activities vary depending on the time of day (pm is more expensive), the number of attractions you want to combine, and an even number of people, as there are “family rates” available. 

4. There is an Information Center at The Base of The Tower

The tourists can enjoy an unobstructed view of Guangzhou City. Standing upon the tower, tourists can have a bird’s-eye view of the beautiful scenery of both the Guangzhou New City and the Pearl River.  

At the base of the tower display Guangzhou general information, including history, culture, economy, and tourist attractions, and set up many tourism service facilities; at the top designed restaurants, entertainment facilities, and viewing platform. 

5. The Tower Glows and Emits Light at Night

The Canton Tower lit up at night. Photo By kherzig –

At night, the tower glows and emits light. Every node in the lighting design is individually controllable to allow for animations and color changes across the entire height of the tower.  

Three laser lamps that can reach as far as 1-kilometer point directly to the top three buildings of Guangzhou City, the Zhongxin building, and the twin towers in Zhujiang New City.  

The aerial mast is controlled by a keying circuit. There is a colour for every day of the week. Local people would know what day it is by seeing the light 

As all lighting is based on LED technology and all fixtures are located on the structure itself, the lighting scheme consumes only 15% of the allowed maximum for façade lighting. 

6. There are Nine High-Speed Elevators at Night

Nine high-speed elevators are available inside the tower. Reaching as high as 438 meters, the elevators are the highest in the world and they only take 1 minute and a half to run from the bottom to the top.  

To address the impact of the elevator on the eardrum, the construction units installed an air regulation device in the elevator. This is the first installation of such a device in the world. 

7. There are Restaurants With Awesome  Views of the City

Colourful fireworks coming out from the Canton Tower. Photo By Colin Zhu –

There are restaurants and coffee shops at the tower. Have your meal as you gaze at the amazing skyline and a bird’s eye view of the city. 

There is also a rotating restaurant. The tower does not rotate but the floor inside the tower does.

This is the highest revolving restaurant at 424 meters high above the ground. It can host 400 guests to enjoy gourmet cuisine from all over the world. It has excellent views of the city and the Pearl River. 

8. There is a Heart-Stopping -Vertical Free Fall

The Sky Drop is a 100-foot freefall that starts at 485 meters (1,591 feet). It is the highest vertical free fall in the world.

It has two options. there is a traditional ‘Sitting Drop’ and a free-fall ‘Standing Drop’. The two styles will make your scream your lungs out almost making your heart stop.

It is a thrilling experience that allows you to get rid of your stress, anxiety, and boredom. 

9. This Tower Has The Longest Spiral Staircase in the World

From 334 to 355 meters (1,095 – 1,165 feet) high at Canton Tower is the ‘Spider Walk’. This is the longest spiral staircase in the world with 1,096 stairs climbing up around the tower.

The whole walkway is about 1,000 meters long and visitors can see different scenes of the city in all directions.  

The entire floor is transparent to test people’s courage and brings visitors the amazing experience of wandering in space just like a spider.

The Spider Walk also enables visitors to get close to the slimmest section of the tower. 

10. The Tower Hosts Events 

View of Pearl River From Canton Tower. Photo By Sparktour –

A small island in front of the tower was chosen to host the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2010 Asian Games held in Guangzhou. 

The tower also hosted an annual Christmas Eve Concert on 24th December 2012 inside the tower’s ground floor. That was the first concert to be held in the Canton Tower. 

The light and drone spectacles at the Canton Tower are major Chinese New Year events with a fireworks display.