Beijing to have new tallest skyscraper in 2016

Zhongguo Zun, a skyscraper that is planned to be the tallest in Beijing, will be completed by the end of 2016, according to a report released by Beijing News on Thursday.

Up to 24 billion yuan ($3.7 billion) is expected to go into the project, according to the State-owned investment company CITIC Group.

CITIC Group broke ground on the skyscraper project in September 2011, less than a year after it had won the right to the land on which the project is being built by submitting a bid of 6.3 billion yuan ($99 million).

The new building will mainly house CITIC Group offices. Its design was inspired by the shapes of ancient Chinese ritual vessel and other traditional objects, such as kongming lamps (floating paper lamps).

According to data released by insiders in CITIC Group, the 528-meter-high office tower occupies an area of 11,478 square meters and contains 427,000 square meters of gross floor space.

The top of the skyscraper is expected to be opened as a place for sightseeing. Those who go to the top will find themselves looking down from a height of 524 meters.

With 108 floors and 7 basement levels, Zhongguo Zun will stand taller than the 330-meter-high Tower 3 of the China World Trade Center.