Friday, September 28, 2018

Dona Paula Beach Goa – A tragic love story !

The Dona Paula Beach is a pristine beach with a tragic love story to its name.

Dona Paula beach was named after the Portuguese Viceroy’s daughter Dona Paula de Menezes.

This young, innocent girl fell in love with a local Goan fisherman. Of course, this match was unacceptable to the Viceroy who forbade his daughter Dona Paula to ever see her young lover again.

Distraught with love and sorrow, Dona Paula could not bear a life without her young Goan lover and threw herself off a cliff into the unforgiving Arabian Sea.

Left with nothing but his daughter’s memory, the Portuguese Viceroy named the area Dona Paula, as an eternal tribute to his stubbornness and forbidden romance & love.

Today, there is a black stone statue of the young Dona Paula and her Goan lover on a rocky promontory jutting into the sea with a sweeping view of the Marmagoa Port in the background.

The bay of Dona Paula in Goa lies at the sangam (or meeting point) of the Arabian Sea and the Goan rivers Mandovi and Zuari. Dona Paula is located in the suburbs of the capital Panjim (where our Mitaroy Goa Hotel is located). Dona Paula is also a very fashionable residence for the rich and famous of Panjim. Originally a fishing village, Dona Paula attracts its fair share of visitors and tourists who come to marvel at its pristine beach, its natural beauty and the romantic legend associated with it.

When you are in Dona Paula, you must visit the ruins of the Cabo Fort, erected in 1540. The Cabo Raj Niwas is one of the most elegant governor’s residences in the whole of Goa.There is also a 180 year old English cemetery, open to the public along with a chapel, which has a memorial tomb of Dona Paula de Menezes with her history engraved on the tombstone.

In Dona Paula, you also have the National Oceanography Institute which was opened in 1960 to study the local Goan marine life alongwith the Marine Biology Museum. A little further (around 9 kms from Dona Paula) is the famous Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary, in the island of Choro by the side of the Mandovi river and named after the famous Indian ornithologist. The Bird Sanctuary is spread over an area of 2 sq km and is a delight for bird lovers. 10 km from Dona Paula is the famous Reis Magos church. This historical landmark is one of the oldest Churches in Goa and was dedicated to the three wise men of the East who brought the baby Jesus gifts of frankincense, gold and myrrh.

The Dona Paula beach itself is one of Goa’s best beaches for water sports such as windsurfing, water skiing, para sailing, motor boat rides etc. There are also several organised water sports facilities on offer in Dona Paula. If you do happen to get serious hunger pangs with all the water sport action, there are quite a few seafood restaurants along the stretch from Dona Paula to Miramar – including Martin’s Beach Corner, Sea Pebble, Menino’s and Sea View.

Thursday, September 27, 2018

Paytm Success Story

Paytm Success Story | The Revolutionary in Indian E-Commerce

Paytm is an Indian e-commerce payment system and digital wallet company. It was founded by Vijay Shekhar Sharma in August 2010 and is based out of Noida SEZ, India.

CEO: Renu Satti (23 May 2017–)

Founder: Vijay Shekhar Sharma

Founded: 2010

Revenue: 814 crores INR (US$120 million, 2017)

Headquarters: Noida

Parent organization: One97 Communications

Paytm Success Story :

Two words that come to almost every Indian’s mind while Shopping, Post demonetization, are “Paytm karo.” Paytm has brought a paradigm shift in the retail industry by completely transforming the payment methodology. Initially, this online wallet cum e-commerce website was used to make payments for limited utilities like mobile and DTH recharge and shopping bills. Over the years, this portal has expanded its scope and has brought about anything and everything under the ambit of its operations. Customers now can recharge their metro card, pay bills for utilities like electricity and water, transfer funds to other bank accounts, book flight/train/bus tickets, make hotel reservations, etc. Now the latest Paytm Succes Story is everexpanding with the addition of e-retail and m-commerce stores.
This gives the option to small vendors to list their products on the website and allows them to expand their customer base.

About

The prodigy of India’s leading ecommerce website development company One97 communication, Paytm was launched in August 2010 by Vijay Shekhar Sharma. Started as an online mobile recharge and bill payment platform, Paytm now enables its users to make almost every kind of transaction on a click of a button. In just a span of 8 years, Paytm has over 250 million registered users and counting.

Major investors in Paytm include Alipay, Alibaba groups, SAIF partners, Silicon Valley Bank, and Sapphire venture. Numerous revenue sources of Paytm include interest from the Escrow account maintained in a nationalized bank, advertisements on the website, commission from utility bill payments and other recharges, and commission on fund transfers from e-wallets to bank accounts.

Revolution and Growth

Paytm is a Reserve Bank of India (RBI)-approved e-wallet, i.e., the user’s money is secured under the Escrow account with a nationalized bank. The security feature and easy user interface make Paytm the most favored digital payment platform in India. Paytm uses Verisign-certified SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) 128-bit encryption technology. This ensures that the online information of the user, i.e., the password and other financial details, is safe, thus providing greater protection to users.

This online payment system is not only secure but also robust.One of Paytm Success Story is it can handle around 5000 transactions per second. A high capacity of transactions has been made possible by the implementation of a very simple yet effective and safe payment method. Users can simply pay by either scanning a QR code of the shop or by entering the mobile number of the recipient. The Paytm wallet also has an option where a user can either safely park his or her money in the application and pay from the money in the wallet or pay directly from the bank via the application. The combination of secure transactions and high capacity has made Paytm one of the most favored payment applications. More and more number of people are now using Paytm to pay for their daily utilities and other expenses.

The popularity of Paytm was boosted by the government’s decision of demonetization. Demonetization forced people to switch to either plastic money or a digital payment method. This helped Paytm to further consolidate their position in the domain of e-payment application. Recent surveys show that Paytm has surpassed similar payment applications such as Mobikwik, Freecharge, and other ecommerce app developers in terms of both the number of users and the revenue generated.

One of the unique features of Paytm Success Story is that it is not only popular in cities but also equally popular in small towns and villages. Slowly and steadily it is becoming the favored mode of payment among masses.

Paytm payment Bank

In August 2015, Paytm received a license from Reserve Bank of India to launch a payments bank.^[7] The Paytm Payments Bank is a separate entity in which founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma will hold 51% share, One97 Communications holds 39% and 10% will be held by a subsidiary of One97 and Sharma. The bank was officially inaugurated in November 2017 by the Indian Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley.^[8] The inauguration ceremony featured prominent banking personalities including former RBI Executive Director PV Bhaskar, Saama Capital Director Ash Lilani and former Shriram Group Director GS Sundarajan. Vijay Shekhar Sharma and Renu Satti(resigned) (CEO – Paytm Payments Bank) are the other directors of Paytm Payments Bank.

It is set to launch over 100,000 banking outlets across India by end of 2018.

Paytm Mall

In February 2017, paytm launched its Paytm Mall app, which allows consumers to shop from 1.4 lakh registered sellers. Paytm Mall raised a whopping $200 million from Alibaba Group and SAIF Partners in March, 2018.

Expansion Plans

Last year Paytm’s market share among the e-payment companies was 26%. Paytm is now planning to explore new avenues. By 2020, Paytm plans to tap the loan market and disburse small loans to 500 million people.

The Paytm Payment Bank was launched in May 2017. A 5-member board committee has been formed to expand the physical presence of the Payment Banks.

Paytm is also planning to give WhatsApp a run for their money by launching a chat app with more sophisticated features. Paytm acquired Shifu and Near.in to improve and strengthen its offline and online platform and enhance customer experience.

Success and Awards

Paytm is enjoying unprecedented success; it has won accolades across the globe for work in the field of digital payment and e-commerce developers. Here is a list of awards and recognition bagged by Paytm in 2017:

1. The Diamond SABRE Award in Company of the Year at SABRE Awards 2017
2. The Diamond SABRE Award in Superior Achievement In Reputation Management at SABRE Awards 2017
3. The Gold SABRE Award in Financial Professional Services at SABRE Awards 2017
4. Vijay Shekhar Sharma was recognized among the 50 Most Influential Young Indians by GQ
5. Vijay Shekhar Sharma won at Entrepreneur India Awards 2017
6. Vijay Shekhar Sharma was listed in the 2017 Time 100 List of Most Influential People in the World
7. Vijay Shekhar Sharma was recognized as the Entrepreneur of the Year at The Entrepreneur’s Moneytech Awards 2017
8. Vijay Shekhar Sharma was announced Data Quest IT Person of the Year
9. Vijay Shekhar Sharma won the Forbes Top 40 Under 40 Award
10. The Best Digital Wallet award at the 11th IAMAI India Digital Summit
11. The Best Consumer Mobile Service award at the 11th IAMAI India Digital Summit

Paytm is determined to improve their products and services and enhance customer experience. Their dedicated team tirelessly works to improve each feature no matter how small it may be. The Paytm team always endeavors to add small and incremental yet effective features that have ensured that it stays as the preferred digital payment platform among users. Paytm has proved to be a paragon in the field of ecommerce website developers and its meteoric rise in popularity has inspired others to follow suit.

Cable-stayed Mandovi Bridge - Goa

The Mandovi Bridge is a bridge between towns Panaji and Porvorim, in Goa. It carries the NH 17 over the tidal part of the Mandovi River. The first and second bridge are multiple span beam bridges and the third is a cable-stayed bridge which is under construction. It has a total length of 3,771 metres. It is the third longest cable-stayed bridge in India.

Image result for third mandovi bridge goa

History

The Mandovi bridge is one of the most famous and longest bridge in Goa. Before the bridge was built, the ferry was the main mode of transport across River Mandovi well into the 1970s between Panaji and Betim village. Due to heavy traffic the first bridge was built in the 1970s. Later in 1986 the first bridge collapsed and was later rebuilt. The second bridge was constructed in 1998 in order to accommodate heavy transport vehicles. The third bridge is under construction which began in 2014. The reason for the third cable-stayed bridge is to accommodate heavy traffic especially during the peak year end tourist season. Larsen and Toubro (L&T) were awarded the EPC contract at a bid of ₹ 24.24 crore to build and design the third bridge.

On 14 June 2014, the foundation stone for the third Mandovi bridge was laid by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The third bridge will be cable stayed bridge constructed between the first and second parallel bridges which will be spanning over 3 kilometers and would be 15 meters higher than the existing two bridges.^[6] The third bridge will be designed and constructed by Larsen & Toubro (L&T). The bridge will be a 900 m four lane bridge will be a 550 m cable stay portion and a 3.2 km viaduct approach. The main bridge is 600m in length with two end spans of 75m and three interior spans of 150m. The main bridge superstructure consists of 21m wide externally strutted segmented concrete box girder with dual carriageway of 2 x 8.5m with 3m wide median at the centre. The box girder will be supported by stay cables which will be anchored in the pylon and stressed from box girder bottom. Another flyover arising from the Merces-Old Goa bypass road will join the Mandovi bridge for traffic from Ponda to go towards Margao. The revised cost of construction of the particular bridge being built is ₹ 860 crore and the cost could increase by ₹ 50 crore. It is the third longest cable-stayed bridge in India.

Mandovi Bridge is one of the most heavily used bridges in Goa. According to GSIDC sources almost 66,000 vehicles travel over the Mandovi bridge everyday.

Characteristics
Carries	4 lanes of NH 17
Crosses	Mandovi River
Locale	Panaji, Goa, India
Other name(s)	Third Mandovi Bridge
Maintained by	Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (GSIDC)
Design	Cable-stayed bridge
Material	Steel and concrete pylons
Total length	3,190 metres (10,470 ft)
Width	21 metres (69 ft)^[1]
Height	30 metres (98 ft)

The Statue Of Unity

India Is Building the

World’s Tallest Statue

The Statue Of Unity

Envisioned to rise nearly 600-feet-tall,

the Unity Statue will be twice the height of the StatuLiberty.

Rendering of the Statue of Unity, showing its interior (all images courtesy Michael Graves Architecture & Design)

For three years, workers in Gujarat, India, have been constructing a massive statue of the country’s first deputy prime minister, the freedom fighter Sardar Vallabhbai Patel. The steel and bronze figure, named the Statue of Unity, is designed to rise nearly 600-feet-tall, or twice the height of the Statue of Liberty. Upon completion, it will represent the world’s tallest statue.

Ongoing construction of the Statue of Unity

The project was conceived of nearly a decade ago by Prime Minister Nahendra Modi, who was then Gujarat’s chief minister. The figure, designed to appear stoic, with his head held high and arms by his sides, is the vision of Indian sculptor Ram V. Sutar. Its design and construction is now being realized by a multi-firm consortium that includes Michael Graves Architecture & Design (MGA&D) and Turner Construction, which previously developed the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. The project’s total cost: 2,989 crore rupees, or $460 million US.

In February, MGA&D announced that the team had hit a major milestone in the construction process, with the completion of the statue’s main structural support of twin concrete cores. Built around these will be steel scaffolding, to serve as a support system for the statue’s outermost surface, which will consist of a series of cast bronze panels.

The world’s current, tallest statue is the Spring Temple Buddha in Henan, China, which will be about 100 feet shorter than the finished Statue of Unity. Beating this record is, of course, no simple feat. Aside from its sheer height, Sutar’s design proposed a unique logistical challenge. The statue is supposed to appear as if it were “walking upon water,” as MGA&D’s associate principal, James Wisniewski, told Hyperallergic. The site is on Sadhu-Bet island, a rocky outcrop in the middle of the Naramada river bed, and the team had to engineer and reinforce it in a way that artfully integrated the sculpture’s base with the surrounding body of water.

“The aim was to create a naturalistic rock outcropping that gently merged with the water line, and that has been highly successful,” Wisniewski said.

Also under the charge of the construction team is a sprawling complex of buildings to supplement the towering statue. These include a museum dedicated to Patel, restaurants, a hotel, and a welcome center.

“The Statue and the Welcome Center act as two book-ends that are connected by a long pedestrian bridge,” Wisniewski said. “The experiential component of the walking journey to the statue is extremely important. The layout included strategies on creating areas of shade and respite, and places to frame spectacular views of the statue, enhancing the entire pedestrian promenade.”

Patel, who grew up in the countryside of Gujarat State, is known for his leadership in India’s struggle for independence from the British Crown. Called the “Iron Man of India” for his relentless and uncompromising activism, he worked to successfully integrate over 500 princely states to form a unified, newly born India. The statue in Gujarat draws its name from this extraordinary feat. It is scheduled for completion this October, to coincide with Patel’s 138th birth anniversary.

Rendering of the Statue of Unity’s visitor center

Wednesday, September 26, 2018

10 Tallest Buildings in the World 2018

Here is a list of tallest skyscrapers in the world.

The buildings are ranked by standard height (architectural height), with other heights like roof height or total height for reference.
Buildings that are under construction but have already topped out or have surpassed certain heights are also included. Sightseeing towers and buildings which are being built that have yet reach to certain heights are not counted.
For sightseeing towers, see tallest telecom towers. For buildings under construction that are not topped out, see Tallest ongoing skyscraper projects.

NOTE: Because of the rapid development of skyscrapers, things are subject to change, the content below will get updated time to time, updates occur on an irregular basis, usually when some new skyscrapers reach a height over one of the skyscrapers listed below.
The last updating was done by August 10, 2018, please note the content below is all based on that time.

1. Burj Khalifa

Standard height: 828 meters (2717 feet)

Total height: 829.8 meters

Floor count: 163

Observation deck: 448 m & 555 m

Year built: 2010

Uses: Residences, Hotel, Office, Observation, Communication

Location: Dubai

Burj Khalifa has been the tallest building of the world by any measurement since its completion in 2009, it is estimated that it can still hold this title for the next 4 years, until then it will be surpassed by either Jeddah Tower in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia or Dubai Creek Tower which located at a site only miles away from Burj Khalifa.

The observation deck on Burj Khalifa is one of most visited destinations in Dubai, the observatory named At The Top SKY is still the tallest observation deck in the world.

2. Shanghai Tower

Standard height: 632 meters (2073 feet)

Parapet-removed height: 583 meters Floor count: 128

Observation Deck: 552 m

Uses: Office, Observation, Hotel, Book store, Museum

Year built: 2016 Location: Shanghai

Shanghai Tower was completed in the beginning of 2016, since then it became the tallest building in China.

Shanghai Tower has a multi-floor observation deck opened to public at its 118th and 119th floor, as of 2017 it's the second tallest observation deck in the world, only after Burj Khalifa's At The Top SKY. For more details check out the guide to visiting Shanghai Tower observation deck.

As the spire of Ping An Financial Center in Shenzhen got cancelled, resulting in the tower ends up being 599 meters tall, so Shanghai Tower can hold that title for a while, until the completion of Wuhan Greenland Center, which is only 4 meters taller.

3. Abraj Al Bait

Standard height: 601 meters (1971 feet) Floor count: 120

Year built: 2012 Location: Mecca

Uses: Hotel, Residences, Retail, Religious use, Telling time

The location of Abraj Al Bait is in close proximity to the Grand Mosque in Mecca, the holiest place in Islam.

Standing at 601 meters, Abraj Al Bait is one of only three buildings in the world that categorized as megatall skyscraper.

4.Ping An International Finance Center

Ping An Finance Center

Standard height: 599 meters (1965 feet)

Roof height: 589 meters

Floor count: 115

Year built: 2016

Location: Shenzhen

Uses: Office, Retail

Ping An Finance Center was once designed to be built to 660 meters with a spire and then set to becomes the tallest building of the country, however there suddenly came out a flight issue, forcing the height limited to be under 600 meters, so no spire ever built atop its peak. Same thing has happened on Canton Tower, which has a similar height with it, the difference is that Canton Tower's spire was cut shorter after its completion.

5. Goldin Finance 117

Standard height & Roof height: 597 meters (1959 feet)

Floor count: 117

Estimated year top out: 2018

Uses: Office, Hotel, Residences, Observation, Retail

Location: Tianjin

This tower has structurally topped out, a diamond shape structure is awaiting for installing atop the building, its current height is around 590 meters, though it's still several meters left to be topped out, the current height can still make it the fifth tallest building of the world.

Tianjin Goldin Finance 117 — Goldin Finance 117 Tower

Year built: 2016 Location: Seoul

Uses: Office, Hotel, Observation, Residence, Retail

Lotte World Tower is the tallest building in South Korea. The tower opened to the public on April 3rd, 2017, it has a total of 123 floors above ground, a multiple-floor observatory occupies the uppermost 7 floors of the tower, by contrast, in most cases the observation decks on skyscrapers only occupy one or two floors.

7. One World Trade Center

New York One World Trade Center — One World Trade Center

Standard height: 541 meters (1776 feet)

Roof height: 417 meters

Floor count: 104

Built year: 2014

Uses: Office, Observation, Communication

Location: New York City

One World Trade Center is the tallest building in New York City and west hemisphere. Its roof height is 417 meters which just same as the North Tower of original World Trade Center, but spire is longer, making its total height to be 546 meters and 541 meters (1776 ft) by architectural height. This height is originated from the year of 1776 when United States Declaration of Independence was signed, many New York lovers complain that 1776 ft should be the roof height, 417 m is too short among today's tallest buildings.

8. Chow Tai Fook Finance Center

Standard height: 530 meters (1739 feet)

Roof height: 530 meters

Floors count: 111

Built year: 2016

Uses: Office,Hotel,Residences

Location: Guangzhou

This tower is owned and named after Chow Tai Fook Enterprises and was developed by New World Development, it's the first near-megatall building named after Chow Tai Fook, currently another same size tower also named after Chow Tai Fook is being built in Tianjin, a 644m megatall tower is planned by Chow Tai Fook to be built in Wuhan.R

9. Tianjin Chow Tai Fook Binhai Center

Standard height: 530 meters (1739 feet)

Roof height: 480 meters

Floors count: 97

Top out year: 2017

Uses: Office, Hotel, Residences

Location: Tianjin

Chow Tai Fook Binhai Center is the second supertall project named after Chow Tai Fook Enterprises.

The tower had fully topped out by the end of September 2017.

10. China Zun Tower

Standard height: 528 meters

China Zun Tower, picture taken on April 11.

Roof height: 524 meters

Floor count: 118

Observation Deck: 524 m

Top out year: 2017

Uses: Office, Retail, Hotel, Observation

Location: Beijing

China Zun Tower is also known as its formal name CITIC Plaza, as it will largely serve as the headquarters of CITIC, a state-owned corporation. In fact the nickname China Zun Tower is more widely used, China Zun was a sort of vessel used in ancient China, the shape of China Zun Tower is inspired by China Zun. Once built the tower will become the tallest building in the capital city of China. The tower structurally topped out in July 2017 and fully topped out at 528 meters one month later becoming the 10th tallest building in the world.

The buildings listed above are top 10 tallest buildings of the world, you might be surprised that many notable buildings you familiar with are not listed, the rapid development of skyscrapers worldwide has made those buildings dropped out from the top 10, below are the buildings succeed the top 10 tallest buildings with the heights a bit shorter than the top 10. Since some of these buildings are still under construction and growing fast, the rank could change frequently, for convenience we don't provide the serial numbers for buildings listed below.

Taipei 101

Standard height: 509 meters

Roof height: 448 meters

Floor count: 101

Observation Deck: 392 m

Year built: 2004

Uses: Office, Observation, Retail,

Communication, Library

Location: Taipei

Taipei 101 was the tallest building of the world by architectural height from 2004 to 2009, today the tower is still the tallest building built on an earthquake zone. The appearance of the tower was inspired by the pagodas of ancient China, the main portion of the tower is comprised of 8 stacked large segments, each has 8 floors, for the number 8 is a sign of prosperity in Chinese culture.

Taipei 101 has world's 3rd tallest outdoor observation deck, and 2 indoor observation floors right below it, a world's largest tuned mass damper can be seen from within the observatory.

Shanghai World Financial Center

Standard height: 492 meters

Roof height: 492 meters

Floor count: 101

Observation Deck: 423 m, 439 m, 474 m

Year built: 2008

Uses: Office, Hotel, Observation, Retail, Restaurant

Location: Shanghai

Shanghai World Financial Center was once the tallest building by roof height during 2008 to 2009, however in fact it has never been taller than Burj Khalifa, it gets that title just because of the fact that Burj Khalifa was still under construction by that time. It's hard to believe that the tower is now out of top 10 tallest buildings in the world in less than 10 years.

The building has a series of observation decks on the uppermost floors, for more details check out the guide to visiting Shanghai World Financial Center Observatory.

International Commercial Center

Standard height: 484 meters Roof height: 484 meters

Floor count:118 Observation Deck: 393 m

Year built: 2010 Location: Hong Kong

Uses: Office, Hotel, Observation, Retail

Hong Kong International Commercial Center — International Commercial Center

International Commercial Center is the tallest building in Hong Kong, unlike other skyscrapers in Hong Kong it situated in Kowloon island not Hong Kong island, maybe due to the scarcity of land in Hong Kong Island, this can be seen that the newly-built New World Trade Center is also built in Kowloon.

Wuhan Greenland Center

Standard height & Roof height: 636 meters (2087 feet)

Current height: August 2018, about 470 meters

Observation deck: 610 meters

Floor count: 126

Estimated year top out: 2018

Uses: Office, Hotel, Residences, Observation

Location: Wuhan

Wuhan Greenland Center is a megatall skyscraper being built on the waterfront of Yangtz River in Wuhan, China. It will become china's tallest building, surpassing Shanghai Tower by 4 meters, not only so, the tower will have world's highest accessible floor at 610 meters off the ground and is planned to be an observation deck, which will become highest observation deck in the world. The tower was estimated to complete in 2019, but the construction has suspended starting in early 2018, and it is said the planned height is likely scaled down to 472 meters.

Lakhta Center

Standard height: 462 meters

Floor count: 86

Year top out: 2018

Uses: Office, Sports Center

Location: St. Petersburg

Lakhta Center is a skyscraper being built in St. Petersburg, Russia, it's the first supertall skyscraper in the city, the building has structurally topped out, and has already become the tallest building in Russia and Europe.

Vincom Landmark 81

Standard height & Roof height: 461.5 meters

Floor count: 81

Year top out: 2018

Uses: Residential, Hotel, Observation

Location: Ho Chi Minh City

Vincom Lankmark 81 is currently the tallest building in Vietnam and Southeast Asia, it is built as the centerpiece of a high-end mixed-use urban area called Vinhomes Central Park. The tower will have a multi-story observation deck at its uppermost floors. The building is still under construction but had fully topped out in April 2018.

Petronas Towers

Kuala Lumpur Twins Towers — Petronas Towers

Standard height: 452 meters

Roof height: 407 meters

Floor count: 88

Observation Deck: 370 m, 170 m

Year built: 1998

Uses: Office, Observation, Retail

Location: Kuala Lumpur

Petronas Towers were the tallest buildings in the world by architectural height from 1998 to 2004.

Changsha International Finance Square

Standard height: 452 meters Floor count: 88

Year top out: 2016 Location: Changsha

Uses: Office

Topped out in 2016, Changsha International Finance Square has become the tallest building in Changsha, a title was once believed to be given to Sky City, a project that touted to be the next tallest building in the world.

Suzhou International Finance Square

Suzhou IFS Tower seen under construction

Standard height: 450 meters

Floor count: 92

Year top out: 2016

Uses: Office, Hotel, Residences, Retail

Location: Suzhou

As its name suggests, the tower is being developed by the same developer which behind the Changsha International Finance Square, in the same time they are also developing other skyscrapers with same name in other cities in China, but not as tall as these two towers.

Below are towers that rank 21st to 30th in height in the world.

Zifeng Tower

Standard height: 450 meters Roof height: 381 meters

Floor count: 89 Uses: Office, Hotel, Restaurant, Retail

Year built: 2010 Location: Nanjing

Touted as 450 meters tall, it doesn't appear like that at all, even unlike a 381m tower since that upper part is so skinny, however it does have the habitable floor right below the spire and is being used as a restaurant.

The Exchange 106

Standard height & Roof height: 446 meters

Floor count: 106

Year top out: 2018

Uses: Office

Location: Kuala Lumpur

The Exchange 106 is a supertall skyscraper being built in Kuala Lumpur, the building is not far from the Petronas Towers, it had been built to an altitude that higher than Petronas Towers' roof in December 2017, and will remain the tallest building in the city and the whole Southeast Asia by roof height for a few years.

Willis Tower

Standard height: 442 meters

Roof height: 442 meters

Total height: 527 meters

Floor count: 108

Observation Deck: 412 m

Year built: 1974

Uses: Office, Retail, Observation

Location: Chicago

Also known as it‘s former name Sears Tower. Willis Tower was world's tallest building from 1974 to 1998, it had holding that title for 24 years, such a long time is only second to Empire State Building, which had been the tallest building of the world for 40 years. Willis Tower lost that title in 1998 when Petronas Towers surpassed it by their spires while the roof of Willis Tower is still higher. Willis Tower had been the tallest building in America since its completion in 1974, until One World Trade Center surpassed it in 2014, however, its roof is still the highest in America.

KK100

Standard height & Roof height: 442 meters Floor count: 100

Year built: 2011 Location: Shenzhen

Uses: Office, Hotel, Restaurant, Retail

KK 100 had been the tallest building in Shenzhen since 2010 when it surpassed Shun Hing Plaza, now it had been surpassed by Ping An International Financial Center. A restaurant is opened to public on the top floor, offering great views of the cityscape.

Guangzhou International Finance Center

Standard height: 438 meters

Total height: 442 meters

Floor count: 103

Year built: 2010

Uses: Office, Hotel, Restaurant, Retail

Location: Guangzhou

Guangzhou International Finance Center briefly known as Guangzhou IFC, it was the tallest building in Guangzhou from 2010 to 2016, now the tower is the second tallest building in the city, only after Chow Tai Fook Center. If broadcasting tower is counted, Guangzhou IFC is the 3rd tallest building in the city and the 20th tallest building in the world.

Wuhan Center

Standard height: 438 meters Floor count: 88

Year top out: 2016 Location: Wuhan

Uses: Office, Observation, Hotel

Wuhan Center is currently the tallest building in Wuhan, it's the first tower built for a development of a new twin towers project in Wuhan, the twin towers will stand 438 meters tall, once completed they will become the second tallest twin towers in the world, and tallest measured to roof.

Marina 101

Standard height: 427 meters Floor count: 101

Year top out: 2016 Location: Dubai

Uses: Residences, Hotel

Dubai Marina 101 — Marina 101 seen under construction

Once completed this tower will overtake New York's 432 Park Ave to become the tallest residential building in the world, but this title will also be replaced by World One in Mumbai several months later.

432 Park Ave

Standard height: 426 meters

Floor count: 96

Year built: 2016

Uses: Residences

Location: New York City

The tower became the world's tallest residential building after its completion in the beginning of 2016, and it's also taller than One World Trade Center by roof height.

Chicago Trump World Hotel & Tower

Standard height: 423 meters

Roof height: 356 meters

Floor count: 98

Year built: 2009

Uses: Hotel, Residences, Retail

Location: Chicago

This tower was developed by Donald Trump, who is now the president of America, the tower was first intended to be built as the tallest building of the world by that time with a height of 457 meters, 5 meters taller than the Petronas Towers. The height was decreased due to the safety concerns since the destruction of World Trade Center Twin Towers.

Although being touted as a 423-meter-tower, its roof height is only 356 meters, plus unlike One World Trade Center, its spire is extremely slender to be picked out, thus it's not fair to rank it as 24th tallest.

Jin Mao Tower

Standard height: 420 meters

Roof height: 370 meters

Floor count: 88

Observation Deck: 340 m

Year built: 1998

Uses: Office, Observation, Hotel, Restaurant

Location: Shanghai

The tallest building of China before 2008, now it's the 3rd tallest building in Shanghai. In July 2016, a new fenceless outdoor platform on 88th floor opened to tourists as an addition to the indoor observation deck.