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Taipei 101

Taipei's Eternal Landmark

Taipei 101 is a timeless landmark in Taiwan, standing at 508 meters tall and remaining the tallest skyscraper in the world for six years when it was completed at the end of 2004. 101 is equipped with the world's largest wind damper and an open-air observation deck on the roof that provides a panoramic view of Taipei.

Taipei 101 is Taiwan’s most distinguished landmark, with a total height of 508 meters, the building was the world’s tallest skyscraper when it was completed at the end of 2004, and held that title for six years. In order to reduce the swaying of the building caused by high winds, the world’s largest wind damper, a 660-ton steel sphere, was installed on its top floors. The New Year’s Eve fireworks display, the first of its kind in Taipei, is a popular event in the city, and every year on December 31, visitors from all over the world gather in Taipei to witness this exciting spectacle.

Landmark of Taiwan

Like the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Empire State Building in New York, today’s Taipei 101 is the most famous landmark in Taipei city.

Before the birth of Taipei 101, Taipei also has a number of famous landmarks, such as the Taipei National Palace Museum, which brings together the essence of five-thousand-year Chinese heritages. Zhongzheng Memorial Hall and Two Halls, which has become a modern cultural center, and the first Five-star hotel - Grand Hotel Yuanshan in Taiwan, that towers over the Keelung River. Taipei 101 was completed and opened at the end of 2004, immediately attracting attention from all over the world. It stands in the central business district of Taipei with its proud and majestic posture, and has become one of the most dazzling landmark buildings in Taipei and even in Taiwan.

The building began construction in 1999 and was initially called the Taipei International Financial Center (TIFC), but in 2003 was renamed Taipei 101 because the building had a total of 101 floors. When Taipei 101 was built, its Total Height of 508 Meters makes it the tallest skyscraper in the world, and it held that record until early 2010, surpassed by the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. The building is shaped like a Jade Bamboo, with eight floors in each section (8 is the lucky number, sounds like “prosperous” in Chinese), and the surface of the building is inclined inward by 7 degrees, effectively reduces the wind pressure effect of high-rise buildings.

Taipei 101 also has several “world’s most” titles, let’s count them one by one. The building is equipped with two World's Fastest Elevators, for visitors to the rooftop observation deck, which have a speed of 60 kilometers per hour and can ascend 1010 meters per minute from the first floor to the 89th-floor observation deck, 382 meters above the ground. It takes less than 40 seconds, truly a blink of an eye.

There is also the world’s largest and heaviest damper on floors 87 to 92 of the building, and the only Wind Damper open for public, which effectively reduces the sway of the top of the building when a typhoon hits. In addition, the Outdoor Observation Deck on the 91st floor of Taipei 101 is the world’s highest open-air observation deck, offering a panoramic view of the city of Taipei.

When it comes to Taipei 101’s most popular event, it has to be the New Year’s Eve fireworks show, which is held as scheduled every year. Since the completion of Taipei 101 on December 31, 2004, the building has been welcoming the New Year with different forms of fireworks and lights on the exterior of the building to form words and patterns. This event has become one of the most famous shows in Taipei, attracting more and more tourists from all over the world, and it is estimated that more than one million people watch the New Year’s fireworks in Taipei 101 every year.

101 Observation Deck

Taipei 101 has two observation decks, indoor and outdoor, the Indoor Observation Deck located on the 89th floor is 382 meters above ground level, with a 360-degree floor-to-ceiling glass window without any blind spots. Not limited by the outside weather conditions, you can see Every Corner of the Bustling City, or in case of special weather such as thunder and lightning or torrential rain, you can stand in the observation deck deep in the clouds and see things you’ve never seen before outside the window.

The 91st-floor outdoor observation deck is another experience, the Unobstructed Fence offering an uncompromised sight of the city view, where naked eyes can identify City Landmarks such as the Taipei Dome, the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and the Yuanshan Hotel, using high-powered binoculars even the students and pedestrians on the ground can be seen clearly. The only pity is that the outdoor observation deck is only open to visitors when the weather permits, and it will be closed in case of strong winds and other adverse conditions to ensure the safety of visitors, so visitors who want to climb here must watch the weather forecast in advance.

World’s Largest Damper

Taipei 101 installed World's Largest Wind Damper, a round yellow steel ball is the building’s “jewel”. It’s useful in the event of a typhoon landfall. When Typhoon Soudelor hit Taipei City on August 8, 2015, the damper swung 1 meter to its highest ever amplitude, so you can imagine the challenges the building would have experienced without it.

Measuring 5.5 meters in diameter and weighing 660 tons, the damper is the world’s Largest and Heaviest Damper, and it consists of 41 layers of 12.5 cm thick welded steel plates, the sphere is suspended in mid-air by eight 9 cm Thick Steel Cables, the top of which is fixed to the 91st floor of the building. Each cable is made up of 2,000 individual steel wires, and the cables have a safety factor of 4, meaning that just one-quarter of the cable is undamaged enough to support the damper’s full weight.

This is the world’s only damping device open to the public, so Taipei 101 also to promote it as a selling point, and created a silly but cute Damper Baby as a mascot. The stripes on the doll’s body are the circles of the damper, while its vertical line eyes and round mouth forming the word “101”. The Entrance, which leads to the dampers, is filled with damper babies of all colors, each with a funny name: Lucky Red, Rich Gold, Smart Silver, Cool Black and Happy Green, and the walls are written the word “Welcome” in different languages.

Along the stairway you can reach the dampers on the 88th floor, the indoor observation deck on the 89th floor and the outdoor observation deck on the 91st floor, and within Colorful Stairwell, there are also prominent numbers indicating the current height of the building.

101 Shopping Center

Taipei 101 also has a Luxury Shopping Mall that combines leisure, entertainment and dining with six upper and lower levels of areas filled with Top International Brand Stores, giving visitors to Taipei 101 a comfortable and satisfying shopping experience.

Public Art

The public areas near the building are resting places for nearby residents and visitors, and Taipei 101 has invested energy in these corners, decorating many public artworks to keep commuters entertained.

The north side of the building is a Fountain of Dragon Leaping Clouds, with the shape as two dragons chasing a pearl with various colored lights, the spraying water is dyed in different colors by the lights at night, attracting many passers-by.

Outside the east entrance, there is a small water landscape, the rotating ball in the center of an oval-shaped pool continues its movement with the flow of water, named Star and Moon.

Another art piece inside the 101 Mall features a circle made of black granite on the floor of the lobby, on which the names of different cities are randomly carved – Beijing, Paris, Berlin, Ottawa, etc. – but also many small towns and cities of lesser renown. The name Ring of the World is the perfect symbol of equality.