The Chang-Gu World Trade Center (), also known as Grand 50 Tower, is a tall

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Most modern sources define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition, other than being very tall high-rise bui ...

Sanmin District Sanmin District () is a District (Taiwan), district of Kaohsiung, Taiwan. History During the Ming dynasty, the Wang, Tsai, and Cheng families built houses in the area to farm the land. The area was thus named ''Sankuaicu'' (). After the Retro ...

Kaohsiung Kaohsiung, officially Kaohsiung City, is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsiung City has a population of approximately 2.73 million p ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

. It was completed in 1992 and was designed by C.Y. Lee & Partners. It was the first building in Taiwan to reach a height of 50 floors, as is highlighted by its alternative name.

History

After its completion in 1992, the Chang-Gu World Trade Center became the tallest building in

surpassing the 169.8 meters high Asia-Pacific Financial Plaza in Kaohsiung. However, it only kept this title for 6 months when the

Shin Kong Life Tower Shin Kong Life Tower (), at 51 stories and a height of , is one of Taiwan's earliest skyscrapers. The rose-colored tower topped by a pyramid stands in Zhongzheng District, Taipei, and dates from 1993. Its first twelve floors and two underground ...

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

was completed on 21 December 1993. It kept the title as the tallest building in Kaohsiung for 5 years until the completion of the

85 Sky Tower 85 Sky Tower (), formerly known as the T & C Tower or Tuntex Sky Tower, is an 85-story skyscraper in Lingya District, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. The structure is high. An antenna increases the pinnacle height to . Constructed from 1994 to 1997 by the n ...

in 1997. The building is currently the 188th tallest building in the world and 5th tallest in Taiwan. The building follows a Chinese

pagoda A pagoda is a tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Thailand, Cambodia, Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist, but some ...

style and has an octagonal base to be stable against high winds which are typical in Taiwan as it is prone to

typhoon A typhoon is a tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere and which produces sustained hurricane-force winds of at least . This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, accounting for a ...

s. During the buildings test phase, it was tested to pressures equivalent of wind speeds in excess of . It was also tested to withstand

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

s which are commonplace in Taiwan. The buildings crown follows the same perimeter as the rest of the building however it stands on an elaborate, thin base. The underside of the crown is lit up at night however the rest is not. The top floor was home to the Grand 50 Club which was managed by the Peninsula Group based in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. The Grand 50 Club was known as a prestigious night-spot. As of 2024, the top floor is closed for renovation. The building contains a car park with 280 spaces available. This located underneath the building, covering five underground floors. The atrium is 21 stories high and is clad in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

. At the top of the building is a

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...

pad.

Transportation

The building is accessible within walking distance North East from

Kaohsiung Station Kaohsiung Main Station () is a railway and metro station in Sanmin District, Kaohsiung, Taiwan served by the Taiwan Railways Administration, Taiwan Railways and Kaohsiung Rapid Transit. It is one of four ''special class'' stations, the highest ...

of the

Kaohsiung MRT Kaohsiung Metro () is a rapid transit and light rail system covering the metropolitan area of Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Its rapid transit network is known as Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit System or Kaohsiung Rapid Transit (KRT). Construction of the MRT ...

Taiwan Railway Administration Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) was a governmental agency in Taiwan which operated Taiwan Railway from 1948 to 2023. It managed, maintained, and operated conventional passenger and freight railway services on of track. Passenger traffic ...

References

External links

* - Building ID: 122156
Skyscraperpage.com

2Bangkok.com
- Pictures available on site.
Turner Construction
- involved in the construction of the tower. {{Kaohsiung 1992 establishments in Taiwan Office buildings completed in 1992 Skyscraper office buildings in Kaohsiung World Trade Centers

History

Transportation

See also

References

External links