Skylines Ranking. Cities visited from February 2016 to February 2018.
12. Macau
World’s Gaming Capital. Many of the big buildings in the skyline are sister casinos to the big names in Vegas such as MGM, Wynn and Sands. By far, the tallest and the most impressive structure on my list is the Grand Lisboa, a lotus flower designed casino and hotel.
11. Sharjah
Rising Sun. Sharjah is the only emirate that shares borders with the rest of the other emirates in UAE, it mixes the modern and urban with culture and tradition. It was also named by UNESCO as Arab Capital of Culture. The tallest building in the city is Al Ayaan Sharjah Gate Tower.
10. Taipei
Home of 101. Taipei’s skyline is dominated by Taipei 101, the tallest building in the world from 2004 to 2010. It was designed to resemble a gigantic bamboo stalk. It currently holds the title of the world’s tallest green building. My preferred view of the skyline is from the Elephant Mountain.
9. Abu Dhabi
Land of Gazelle. In the early 1960s, Abu Dhabi was a small village. Today, the city has a strikingly glassy skyline filled with uniquely designed skyscrapers from the coin-shaped Aldar headquarters to the Al Bahr Towers, often dubbed as the pineapple buildings. The tallest building is Burj Mohammed Bin Rashid.
8. (Metro) Manila
Pearl of the Orient. Manila is one if not the most densely populated city in the world. As such, skyscrapers are everywhere. Skylines are formed into various clusters, which the most concentration of buildings are located in Makati, Bonifacio Global City and Ortigas. Metro Manila has its first supertall skyscraper, the Grand Hyatt Manila, which is the tallest building in the country since its completion in 2017.
7. Shenzhen
China’s Silicon Valley. Shenzhen is a young city and used to be a small fishing village. It has the tallest skyscraper built in 2017, currently the fourth tallest in the world, Ping An Finance Center. This view from Shun Hing Square is awesome, seeing the current and former tallest buildings in one viewpoint.
6. Kuala Lumpur
The Garden City of Lights. Kuala Lumpur is known for its Petronas Twin Towers, world’s tallest buildings from 1998 to 2004. It still holds the record for the world’s tallest twin buildings. The city has a variety of influences, ranging from Asian to modern and postmodern architecture.
5. Singapore
The Lion City. The city has one of the most beautiful skyline due to the fascinating mix of old and new, blending colonial buildings and Chinese shophouses with modern skyscrapers. It has the second and third most expensive buildings in the world, the Resorts World Sentosa and the Marina Bay Sands.
4. Tokyo
Home of the Skytree. Due to the risk of earthquakes, Tokyo has a relatively low skyline. The city is known for being well organized, respectful, clean, crowded, disciplined, modern, punctual, having delicious food and yeah, high tech toilets. Of course, they also have the tallest tower in the world, the Tokyo Skytree.
3. Dubai
City of Gold. Dubai is a city filled with towering skyscrapers and several other man-made wonders. It is also the home of the world’s current tallest building, tallest hotel, largest man-made islands and the fastest police cars. They are also building the Dubai Creek Tower, a structure higher than Burj Khalifa. The view on the Sheikh Zayed Road and Dubai Marina is stunning.
2. Shanghai
Paris of the East. Shanghai has an impressive picturesque skyline. My favorite views are from The Bund and from the Lujiazui circular footbridge where you can see the Oriental Pearl Tower up close and ‘The Trinity‘, the city’s three tallest buildings side by side, including Shanghai Tower, world’s second tallest. It is only the city in Asia Pacific to have three skyscrapers which exceed 400 meters in height.
1. Hong Kong
Fragrant Harbour. Hong Kong definitely takes the cake on my list. It’s massive, dense and luminous. They even have ‘A Symphony of Lights‘ to show it, recognized by the Guinness World Records as the world’s largest permanent light and sound show. The city holds the title of the most number of skyscrapers in the world.
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