Canton Tower is Now the Tallest Tower in China

We have already discussed the Oriental Pearl Tower, which remained China’s tallest tower until 2007. So which structure took its place? That distinction went to the Canton Tower.

Officially known as the Guangzhou TV Astronomical and Sightseeing Tower, Canton Tower rises to 1,982 feet, or 604 meters. Located in Guangzhou, the tower also surpassed Canada’s CN Tower for a period of time to become the tallest tower in the world.

Design and Construction

Canton Tower was created by Dutch architects Mark Hemel and Barbara Juit in collaboration with Arup, the London-headquartered engineering firm.

Plans for the tower were developed in 2004, and construction officially began with the groundbreaking ceremony in 2005. The structure opened to the public on October 1, 2010, although construction was not completely finished until December 2011.

The decision to open the tower ahead of its full completion was connected to the 16th Asian Games, which were being held in Guangzhou at the time.

The Search for a Name

In 2009, the tower still did not have an official name. Its investor, Guangzhou Daily, therefore launched a public naming competition that attracted 180,000 valid submissions.

The selected winning name was Haixin Tower, a phrase that can be translated as “Tower in the Sea.” However, officials eventually felt that the name might be difficult for people unfamiliar with Guangzhou’s history to understand.

Before the tower was completed, local residents used a variety of informal names to describe the distinctive structure. These included “Slim Waist,” “Twisted Firewood,” and Yangdianfeng, meaning “Peak of the Ram City.”

The naming issue was revisited in 2010, and the final decision was eventually made. At the end of September that year, the structure was officially given the name Canton Tower, which is the name it continues to carry today.