The Oriental Pearl Radio and Television Tower, located in Pudong Lujiazui, Shanghai, a futuristic building, and the Bund across the Huangpu River, formerly known as the Shanghai Radio and Television Tower, is often referred to simply as the Oriental Pearl.

The Oriental Pearl was designed by the then East China Architectural Design and Research Institute, and construction began in 1991 and was completed in 1994, with a total height of 468 meters.

Between 1994 and 2007, it was the tallest building in mainland China, surpassed by the Shanghai World Financial Center in 2007. Since its completion, the Oriental Pearl Tower has become an integral part of Shanghai's skyline, a landmark in the city, and a national 5A tourist attraction in China.

Shanghai Radio and Television Tower concept from Bai Juyi's poem "Pipa Xing" in a section of the big pearl falling jade plate framing concept, by three 7 meters apart, zigzag arrangement of the cylinder and three with the ground at an angle of 60 degrees, the diameter of the 7-meter diagonal strut constitutes the main body, during the period of arrangement of the through the 11 varying sizes of the sphere.

The cylinder is 9 meters in diameter, built-in 6 high-speed elevators and pipelines, constructed of reinforced concrete. 11 spheres for the spherical steel space grid structure, and the use of domestic new aluminum honeycomb metal curtain wall panel veneer enclosure. The lowest level is a concrete base. Sightseeing floor, guest rooms, restaurants, exhibition halls, radio and television transmission equipment are distributed in the sphere and the base.

Activities:

Since its completion, the Oriental Pearl Tower has not only been a landmark, but has also become a venue for Shanghai's national fitness campaign, which was held by the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Sports at the Shanghai Broadcasting and Television Tower on January 1, 1996, and has since become a customary and permanent activity.

The annual event usually starts at 9 a.m. on Jan. 1 at the Oriental Pearl Square, with about 500 participants and another 2,000 runners taking part in the long-distance run. There are permanent men's and women's divisions, but other divisions may be added depending on the circumstances. For example, in 2011, the sunflower city sunrise group and the happy and harmonious family group were added to the event.

Since 2009, Shanghai's iconic Oriental Pearl Tower has joined Earth Hour in response to WWF's call for energy conservation and emission reduction.

On March 28, 2009, at 8:30 p.m., the Shanghai Broadcasting Tower turned off all outdoor lights for one hour, and on March 27, 2010, the Oriental Pearl Tower and the entire Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone turned off their lights for one hour, and on the evening of March 26, 2011, the Oriental Pearl Tower participated in Earth Hour for the third year.

Baidu Encyclopedia - The Oriental Pearl Tower