Tower sights in Asia
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Peak Tower
The anvil-shaped Peak Tower, with its attractions, shops and restaurants, is a good place to bring the kids and makes a good grandstand for many of the best views of the city and harbour. On Level 4 there’s an outpost of Madame Tussauds, with eerie (and often creepy) wax likenesses of international stars, as well as local celebrities such as Jackie Chan, Andy Lau, Michelle Yeoh and Kelly Chen. There is an open-air viewing terrace with coin-operated binoculars on Level 5.
reviewed
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Taipei 101
Towering above the city like the gigantic bamboo stalk it was designed to resemble, Taipei 101 is impossible to miss. At 508m, Taipei International Financial Centre 101, as it's officially named, is the world's tallest building (Dubai eat your heart out, for now at least!). In addition to holding the world record for height, Taipei 101 also holds the record for having the world's fastest elevator.
The pressure-controlled lift travels at 1010 meters per minute and takes 40 seconds to get from ground level to the 89th floor observation deck.
reviewed
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Menara KL
Built atop the Bukit Nanas Forest Reserve, the 421m Menara KL easily trumps the Petronas Towers when it comes to providing the highest view you’re going to get of the city, bar chartering a helicopter. The tower’s bulbous pinnacle is inspired by a Malaysian spinning top and, inside, the viewing deck is, at 276m, at least 100m higher than the Petronas Towers’ skybridge. One floor higher, you can have a meal or afternoon tea at the revolving restaurant Seri Angkasa.
reviewed
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Busan Tower
In the centre of the humble Yongdusan Park stands the 118m Busan Tower. If the haze is not too thick, daytime views of container-ship traffic in the harbour provide a sense of the port's scale of operations. Other things to do: buy corn from a kiosk, watch pigeons swoop for food.
reviewed
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Oriental Pearl Tv Tower
Love it or hate it, this 468m-tall bauble-adorned tripod has become a symbol of Pudong and the Shanghai renaissance. Join the queue for high-altitude views or head to the basement to visit the highly recommended Shanghai History Museum.
reviewed
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Two IFC
The two tapering, pearl-coloured colossi of One IFC and Two IFC sit atop the International Finance Centre (IFC) Mall and Hong Kong station, terminus of the Airport Express and the Tung Chung lines. Both were partly designed by Cesar Pelli, the man responsible for Canary Wharf in London. One IFC, which opened in 1999, is a ‘mere’ 39 levels tall. At 88 storeys, Two IFC was until recently Hong Kong’s tallest (though not prettiest) building. Given the local penchant for bestowing nicknames on everything, Two IFC has been christened ‘Sir YK Pao’s Erection’, a reference to the owner of the company that built the tower. The claimant to the title of Hong Kong’s tallest buildi…
reviewed
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Qutb Minar
The superb buildings in this complex date from the onset of Islamic rule in India. The Qutb Minar itself is a soaring 73m/240ft-high tower of victory that was started in 1193, immediately after the defeat of the last Hindu kingdom in Delhi. At its base is Quwwat-ul-Islam Masjid (Might of Islam Mosque), India's first.
The tower has five distinct storeys, each marked by a projecting balcony, and it tapers, like something out of a fairy tale, from a 15m (50ft) diameter at the base to just 2.5m (8ft) at the top. The first three storeys are made of red sandstone, the fourth and fifth storeys of marble and sandstone. The stairs inside the tower coil so steeply that they're enou…
reviewed
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One & Two International Finance Centre
These two tapering, pearl-coloured colossi sit atop the International Finance Centre (IFC) Mall and Hong Kong station, terminus of the Airport Express and the Tung Chung lines. Both were partly designed by Cesar Pelli, the man responsible for Canary Wharf in London. One IFC, which opened in 1999, is a ‘mere’ 39 levels tall. At 88 storeys, Two IFC was until recently Hong Kong’s tallest (though not prettiest) building. Given the local penchant for bestowing nicknames on everything, Two IFC has been christened ‘Sir YK Pao’s Erection’, a reference to the owner of the company that built the tower. The claimant to the title of Hong Kong’s tallest building now looms across t…
reviewed
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Bank of China Tower
The Bank of China (BOC) is headquartered in the awesome Bank of China Tower to the southeast of its old home (the Old Bank of China building at 1 Bank St). The tower was designed by Chinese-born American architect IM Pei and completed in 1990. This 70-storey building is Hong Kong’s third-tallest structure after Two International Finance Centre in Central and Central Plaza in Wan Chai. The asymmetry of the building is puzzling at first glance, but it’s really a simple geometric exercise. Rising from the ground like a cube, it is successively reduced, quarter by quarter, until the south-facing side is left to rise upward on its own. Many local Hong Kong Chinese see the buil…
reviewed
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Central Plaza
At just under 374m, Central Plaza, which was completed in 1992, is just 3m shorter than the newer Two IFC tower. The glass skin of the tower has three different colours – gold, silver and terracotta – and the overall impression is rather garish. Central Plaza functions as one of the world’s biggest clocks. There’s method to the madness of the four lines of light shining through the glass pyramid at the top of the building between 6pm and midnight. The bottom level indicates the hour: red is 6pm, white 7pm, purple 8pm, yellow 9pm, pink 10pm and green 11pm. When all four lights are the same colour, it’s right on the hour. When the top light is different from the bottom ones…
reviewed
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Prang Sam Yot
Opposite San Phra Kan, the Prang Sam Yot represents classic Khmer-Lopburi style and is Lopburi's most photographed Hindu-turned-Buddhist temple. Originally, the three towers symbolised the Hindu Trimurti of Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma. Now two of them contain ruined Lopburi-style Buddha images. Some Khmer lintels can still be made out, and some appear unfinished.
An U Thong-Ayuthaya imitation Buddha image sits in the brick sanctuary in front of the linked towers. At the back are a couple of crudely restored images, probably once Lopburi style. The grounds allotted to Prang Sam Yot are quite small and virtually surrounded by modern buildings. The best view of the monument is …
reviewed
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Monas
Ingloriously dubbed 'Soekarno's final erection', this 132m-high Monas, towering over Merdeka Sq, is both Jakarta's principal landmark and the most famous architectural extravagance of the former dictator. Begun in 1961, this typically masculine column was not completed until 1975, when it was officially opened by Soeharto.
The National Monument is allegedly constructed 'entirely of Italian marble', and is topped with a sculpted flame, gilded with 35kg of gold leaf. The highlight of a visit are the smoggy views of Jakarta from the top of the monument (adult/child around Rp5000/around Rp2500). Avoid Sunday and holidays, when the queues for the lift are long.
In the base of t…
reviewed
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Tower of the Juche Idea
On the other side of the Taedong River from Kim Il Sung Sq, this honours Kim Il Sung's philosophy Juche, and was unveiled to mark the president's 70th birthday in 1982. Indeed, the tower is made up of 25,550 granite blocks - one for every day of Kim's life until his 70th birthday. The tower stands at 170m and a trip to the top by lift is well worth it, providing a great view over the capital on a clear day.
For the best views go in the morning, as the sun is still in the east, lighting up the western, more interesting side of the city. The pavilions surrounding the tower feature a trio of workers holding aloft the emblem of the DPRK and in the river immediately in front a…
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Exchange Square
West of Jardine House, this complex of three elevated office towers is home to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and a number of businesses and offices. The main draw for visitors is the attractive and relatively peaceful open-air space, featuring fountains and sculptures including Henry Moore’s Single Oval, bronzes by Dame Elizabeth Frink and Taiwanese artist Ju Ming’s memorable t’ai chi sculpture. Access is via a network of overhead pedestrian walkways stretching west to Sheung Wan and linked to many of the buildings on the other side of Connaught Rd. The ground level of the 52-storey Towers I and II is given over to the Central bus and minibus terminus.
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Iswari Minar Swarga Sal
A handy landmark among the chaos is Iswari Minar Swarga Sal near Tripolia Gate. The minaret was erected by Jai Singh’s son, Iswari, who later killed himself rather than face the advancing Maratha army. As the ultimate act of Rajput loyalty, 21 wives and concubines committed jauhar on his funeral pyre. You can spiral to the top of the minaret for excellent views over the old city. The entrance is around the back of the row of shops lining Chandpol Bazaar. To get there take the alley that’s 50m west of the minaret along Chandpol Bazaar, or go via the entrance to the City Palace, which is 50m west of Tripolia Gate and 200m east of the minaret.
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Little Goose Pagoda
The Little Goose Pagoda is in the pleasant grounds of Jianfu Temple. The top of the pagoda was shaken off by an earthquake in the middle of the 16th century, but the rest of the 43m-high structure is intact.
Jianfu Temple was originally built in AD 684 to bless the afterlife of the late Emperor Gaozong. The pagoda, a rather delicate building of 15 progressively smaller tiers, was built from AD 707-709 and housed Buddhist scriptures brought back from India by the pilgrim Yi Jing.
You can mount the pagoda for a worthy panorama of Xī'ān.
Bus 610 runs here from the Bell Tower; from the South Gate take bus 203.
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Tomorrow Square
This stupendous tower – designed by John Portman & Associates and completed in 2003 – seizes the Shànghǎi zeitgeist with dramatic aplomb. Resembling a sci-fi corporation headquarters, the stratospheric building is given further lift by the stylistic awkwardness of nearby rivals: chiefly the Radisson Hotel Shanghai New World, which looks like a gigantic UFO has swivelled down from the sky to screw itself onto its roof. Tomorrow Sq houses Shànghǎi’s highest serviced apartments while the foyer of the JW Marriott Tomorrow Square debuts on the 38th floor. Pop up to put People’s Sq in the proper perspective.
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Peak Galleria
Designed to withstand winds of up to 270km/h, theoretically more than the maximum velocity of a No 10 typhoon, this building is worth skipping unless you’re after refreshments. You can reach the Peak Galleria’s viewing deck, which is larger than the one in the Peak Tower, by taking the escalator to Level 3. Inside the centre you’ll find a number of retail shops, from art galleries to duty-free stores. If you wish to eat, you’ll find that prices are high and the quality low, as restaurants don’t have to try too hard to find custom at this top visitor spot.
reviewed
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Clock Tower
A famous Sapporo landmark, the clocktower is about a 10-minute walk from the JR Sapporo Station or a three-minute walk from Ōdōri Station. Enter by 17:00. Visitors can look at some clocks and get a brief history of the building, which was built in 1878 and (supposedly) has never missed tolling the hour for 120 years.
It's also known as one of Japan's top three gakkari (disappointing) spots, mainly because the brochure photos often remove the urban metropolis that dwarfs the small building. You might walk right by before realising it's right in front of you.
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Kompleks Dayabumi
The former headquarters of Petronas, Malaysia's national oil and gas company, the Kompleks Dayabumi was built in 1981 on land formerly occupied by the workshops for the Malayan Railway. The landmark feature here is a tall marble tower, cloaked in delicate fretwork screens. In profile, the tower forms a four-pointed star intersected by a square, a reoccurring symbol in Islamic art. Despite being one of the older buildings in KL, the tower is notable for its clean lines and purity of form.
To get here, walk over the footbridge behind Central Market.
reviewed
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Telecom Tower
There's a wonderful view of Thimphu valley from the hillside below the telecommunications tower (2685m), high above the town at the end of a road that branches off from the approach to the youth centre. The complex also houses the broadcasting studios of Bhutan TV and is festooned with prayer flags. Don't photograph the telecommunications installation, but the valley is worth a few snaps particularly in the afternoon.
The area is known as Sangaygang and the access road attracts fitness fanatics after work and becomes a lover's lane after dark.
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Birch Memorial Clock Tower
The Birch Memorial Clock Tower (1909) was erected in memory of James WW Birch, Perak's first British Resident, who was murdered at Pasir Salak. The friezes on the clock tower are meant to illustrate the growth of civilisation, featuring figures such as Moses, Buddha, Shakespeare and Charles Darwin. A figure representing Mohammed has since been erased. Birch was not a popular man locally. The road on which his memorial stands has been renamed in honour of one of his killers.
It's a short walk from the train station on Jln Dato' Sagor.
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Nakagin Capsule Tower
In the 1960s architects such as Shinohara Kazuo, Kurokawa Kisho, Maki Fumihiko and Kikutake Kiyonori began a movement known as Metabolism, which promoted flexible spaces and functions at the expense of fixed forms in building. Kurokawa’s Nakagin Capsule Tower is a seminal work, designed as pods that could be removed whole from a central core and replaced elsewhere. His last great work, the National Art Center in Roppongi (2006), weaves undulating vertical forms into a strikingly latticed, organic structure.
reviewed
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Satkhanda
This decaying watchtower looks like a medieval painting of the Tower of Babel. Known as Satkhanda, it actually has only four storeys because construction was abandoned in 1840 when Mohammed Ali Shah died.
The 67m red-brick clock tower, reputedly the tallest in India, was built in the 1880s in memory of Sir George Couper, a reform-minded Governor of UP (United Provinces in those days).
Nearby is a baradari (summer palace), which overlooks an artificial lake and houses large portraits and photos of the nawabs of Avadh.
reviewed
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Sun Pagoda
Octagonal seven-storey Moon Pagoda (Yuè Tǎ) is connected to Sun Pagoda - the world's tallest copper pagoda - by an underwater tunnel. Constructed from a staggering 350 tons of copper (don't climb during lightning storms unless you want to be truly illuminated), the 41m-high Sun Pagoda has nine floors and must be one of the world's few pagodas equipped with a lift. Artful Chinese gǔzhēng(zither) performances are held in the choicely positioned teahouse near the base of Sun Pagoda.
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