The Chinese love affair with super high-rise build-ings can be traced back decades. When Shanghai ParkHotel was completed in October 1933, it was inarguablythe tallest building in Asia. The hotel included 24 floors,although two were underground, and it reached 84 metersinto the sky, 11 meters taller than the Hong Kong andShanghai Banking Corporation building, then the tallestin Hong Kong. For 50 years, the hotel remained the tall-est in Shanghai.