• 국제초고층학회논문집
• /
• 제13권1호
• /
• pp.33-56
• /
• 2024

This paper examines China's rapid shift from low-rise to high-rise urban development, focusing on Shanghai as a case study. It provides a detailed analysis of the rapid vertical developments over the past five decades, highlighting gradual and sudden tall building changes. The study also surveys tall building development in the ten "tallest cities" across China, including Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Wuhan, Chongqing, Chengdu, Shenyang, Hangzhou, and Nanning, while listing the tallest ten buildings in each city. The focus is on the drivers behind these towering structures: globalization, an economic powerhouse, and finance center, urbanization and population density, architectural innovation and ambition, competition and prestige, land availability and utilization, government support and planning, and tourism. The paper critically examines the sustainability of this trend in light of new Chinese policies restricting the construction of high-rise buildings exceeding 500m and 250m in smaller cities due to safety and security concerns. This prompts a reflection on the long-term viability and implications of the predominantly high-rise trajectory in urban development.