Zhongyuan Tower by Meritguy licensed under the terms of CC BY-SA 3.0
Completed in 2011, it was briefly the tallest steel tower in the world (at 1273 feet) until surpassed by Tokyo Skytree.
While the core of the building is tube shaped, there are structural elements surrounding it that widen at the top and bottom to create a “hyperboloid” structure. The fanciful design with blue and yellow at the top looks oddly dated, reminiscent of something one might expect to find in an abandoned Russian amusement park.
Although Zhongyuan Tower is meant primarily as a television tower, it also has an observation deck and a revolving restaurant at the top that can serve up to 200 guests.
One last fun fact: the observation deck houses the world’s largest panoramic painting (of the Henan province’s landscape) along its perimeter, encompassing over 32,000 square feet. It took a team of 13 painters an entire year to complete. Impressive!
