Shanghai Tower reaches for sky and record

The 632-meter Shanghai Tower (right), located in Lujiazui, Shanghai's financial zone, is scheduled for completion in 2015. It is the second-tallest building in the world. [Yan Daming / China Daily]

Skyscrapers have been sprouting up around China in recent years on an unprecedented scale with more in the making, and the country is expected to host six of the world's 10 tallest buildings by 2020, reports Wu Yiyao in Shanghai.

The 632-meter Shanghai Tower will become China's tallest building and the world's second-tallest after the 828-meter Burj Khalifa Tower in Dubai.

Located in Lujiazui, Shanghai's financial zone, the skyscraper, to be completed in 2015, will not hold the title for long.

Zhongnan Center, in Suzhouin Jiangsu province, is planned to be more than 700 meters high, according to the city's urban planning department.

In Wuhan, capital city of Hubeiprovince in Central China, a 1,000-meter-tall twin tower has been designed and, if approved by the government, will be erected in 2018.

"There is no end to the competition for the tallest building. For many developers and investors, it is a game of the taller the better," said Zhang Yuanzhi, project agent in Shanghai." A tall building embodies power - both architectural and financial."

Skyscrapers have been sprouting up around China in recent years on an unprecedented scale.

By 2020, China should have six of the world's top 10 skyscrapers, according to the Chicago-based Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, a nonprofit organization that focuses on the planning, design, construction and operation of tall buildings.

China will dominate global super-tall building development in the next five years. Its number of such buildings - more than 200 meters high and with more than 40 stories - will account for 70 percent of world's total, according to a report by realty service provider CBRE Inc.

CBRE said about 51 percent of China's super-tall buildings are in second-tier cities, including Shenyang in Liaoning province and the municipalities of Chongqing and Tianjin.