Taipei 101, Taiwan
The Taipei Towers with 101 floors is 508 metres (1,667 feet) high. It cost a whopping $1.8 billion to build the tower. Officially it is still the highest tower in the world.
Built in 2004, the building was designed by C.Y. Lee & Partners and constructed by KTRT Joint Venture. Taipei 101 is designed to withstand typhoons and earthquake tremors.
The tower's design specifications are based on the number '8', a lucky number in traditional Chinese culture. The design and planning of the tower was carried out by a Feng Shui master. The elevators in the building are the fastest in the world, rising at 1008 metres per minute (60.48 km/hour) and descending at 610 m/min (36.6 km/hour).
This is one of the few buildings in the world equipped with double-deck elevators. The Taiwan Stock Exchange is housed in this building.
Image: A five-storey high Christmas tree is near Taipei 101, the world's tallest skyscraper. | Photograph: Patrick Lin/AFP/Getty Images
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