Jin Mao 88
(The Jin Mao tower in Pudong: Shanghai, China)
I wanted to put this handsome building here, simply because I think it’s spectacular. I find a lot of the very new and modern towers in Shanghai less interesting that some of the older ones. This one, the Jin Mao, is not particularly old, and has been in use for just over a decade, yet has characteristics of a much older structure. It is more akin to the Deco grace of New York’s Chrysler building than with its nearest neighbour; the brand new ‘bottle opener’ shaped Financial Centre. What I like best is that as the floors escalate, so too does the frequency of floor segments. It is supposed to look like a postmodern interpretation of a Chinese pagoda, offering a modern take on a traditional building model.
Perhaps one of the reasons I am particularly drawn to the tower is the prevalence of the number eight in its construction. It is my favourite number for many reasons; my sister and I were both born on the 8th of a month, I lived at a number 8 and on its side, an 8 is the sign for infinity. This number has brought me much luck, but also appears more frequently – I once even had a boyfriend born on the same date as me. After arriving in China, I discovered the number eight is very auspicious and heavily linked with prosperity. So back to the Jin Mao, apparently each ascending set of floors is one eighth smaller than the one below, thus imbuing a kind of luck and auspicious quality in the actual building structure itself. Interestingly it also has eighty-eight floors…
