by Shane Henson — June 21, 2013—Emporis, provider of worldwide building data, recently released a list of the world’s highest observation decks, with Canton Tower taking the number one spot.
The Canton Tower not only provides a magnificent view of Guangzhou, China, but also offers a further attraction to visitors with a particularly good head for heights—the chance to circle the top of tower in glass pods 460 meters above the ground, says Emporis.
The Shanghai World Financial Center ranks at similarly dizzying heights. Its Skywalk 100, a 55-meter-long glass bridge 474 meters up the tower, puts it in second place in the ranking, says Emporis. It will have to give up its current spot, though, when its neighbor Shanghai Tower is completed next year. At the spectacular height of 557 meters, Shanghai Tower’s observation deck will then far outstrip even the current record-holder.
Third on the list at 452 meters up is “At the Top,” the name of the observation deck at Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building. Rounding out the top 10 list is the Tokyo Sky Tree in Tokyo, Japan, with an observation deck at 450 meters; the CN Tower in Toronto, Canada, at 447 meters; KK100 in Shenzhen, China, at 427 meters; Guangzhou International Finance Center in Guangzhou, China, at 415 meters; Willis Tower in Chicago, United States, at 413 meters; Taipei 101 in Taipei, Taiwan, at 392 meters; and the International Commerce Centre in Hong Kong, China, at 388 meters.
According to Emporis, the battle for the world’s highest observation deck is set to remain exciting into the future. Last month saw the start of construction work on Kingdom Tower in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The megaproject, due to have an overall height of more than a kilometer, will put even Burj Khalifa in the shade. With an observation deck planned at a height of around 800 meters, it will bring the desert state not only the title of the world’s tallest building, but also that of the world’s highest observation deck. It will be a few years yet, however, before one can enjoy the view from the king of towers, with opening planned for 2018.
