Taipei 101

The view is not only impressive looking out. If you turn around and look back into the building, you will see a great feat of structural engineering – the 660-tonne steel mass damper. Being a 101-storey building in a typhoon and earthquake-prone city requires some creative solutions to avoid damage. This giant pendulum swings to offsets the movement of the building from high winds and shakes. At 5.5 metres in diameter, it is the biggest and heaviest of its kind in the world.

Getting up to the observatory is another record-breaking engineering marvel – the world’s fastest elevator. The 2-deck pressurised lifts accelerate up to a top speed of 60.6 km/h, covering the distance in just 37 seconds.

Down at the bottom of the tower, from B1 up to the 5th floor, is the luxurious Taipei 101 Shopping Mall. Specialising in top-end stores from around the world, it boasts some of the city’s best offerings of fashion and fine dining. Set among the marble pillars and elegant décor are such world-renown brands as Armani Exchange, Versace and French Connection, as well as a great food court on B1.

The outside of Taipei 101 is just as impressive as the inside, incorporating traditional Chinese design in a modern glass-and-steel building, giving it a distinctive pagoda-like look. It is best seen on New Year’s Eve, when the breath-taking display of fireworks launched from each of the 8 tiers (each 8-storeys in height) lights up the city.

Taipei 101, being the city’s tallest building by some significant margin, is not difficult to find. It has its own MRT station (Taipei 101/World Trade Center Station) on the Red (2) Line.