Today we congratulate the 338 m / 1108.92 ft high Macau Tower, inaugurated on 19 December 2001!
The tower is located in Macau, a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China, which was the first and last European colony in China. Macau was a Portuguese colony from the first official Portuguese settlement in 1557 until 1999. The construction of the Macau Tower Convention & Entertainment Center started before then, in 1998. A fun fact: Macau businessman Dr. Stanley Ho Hung-Sun visited another member of the World Federation of Great Towers, the Sky Tower in Auckland, New Zealand, and was so inspired by the tower that he decided to build a similar one in Macau! The Macau tower was designed by architect Gordon Moller of the architectural firm CCMBECA in New Zealand and the construction took three years.
The tower has amazing activities to offer and has multiple observation decks on the 58th and 61st floors, which can be reached in under 60 seconds in the high-speed elevators with a glass front. The main viewing deck is located at 223 m / 731.6 ft and the visibility stretches to 55 kilometers / 34.1 miles on a clear day. Daredevils can ‘Walk in the Sky’ and see the view down through the reinforced glass floor. Guests are invited to step outside at 223 m / 731.6 ft up and step onto the adventure deck and experience ‘Skywalk.’ The adventure deck is the outer ring of the tower, which has no railing and is approximately 1.5 m / 4.9 ft wide, on which guests ‘Walk in the Sky’ secured with a safety harness with a leash. If the views from the highest accessible public space on the tower still do not make the heart beat faster, then it is time to upgrade to ‘Skyjump’ – kind of like bungee jumping, but then the body is not thrown back up after the jump, an AJ Hackett Urban Adventure crew invention. The Macau tower also has the Guinness World Record for Highest Commercial Building Bungee Jump (Skypark Macau Tower by AJ Hackett’s Bungee Jump is 233 m / 764 ft high!). And last but not least, for absolute thrill seekers with nerves of steel, the Macau tower offers ‘Tower Climb.’ Participants ascend the antennae mast with a guide, climbing to the top of the Tower at 338 m / 1108.92 ft. Wow!
The Macau tower has plenty to offer to those with less adventurous recreational styles as well. The tower has world-class conference facilities, entertainment (including a a 3D movie theatre!), various shops, and offers a wide variety of culinary experiences. Macau’s highest and only 360° revolving restaurant, 360° Café, located at 228 m / 748 ft, offers a sumptuous buffet of international delicacies. For lovers of coffee with a view there is Café on 4, Lua Azul offers exquisite Chinese fine dining, for an exceptional Portuguese dining experience Portuguese restaurant Tromba Rija, and there is even a Patisserie full of delicious pastries. The Macau Tower also caters to organizations and corporations, offering well-equipped banquet facilities.
The Macau tower is estimated to receive over one million visitors per year, and amongst those visitors are some very special people, including ministers and secretaries. You can visit the Macau Tower Convention & Entertainment Center from Monday to Friday from 10 am to 9 pm and on Saturday and Sunday from 9 am to a pm. During nighttime, the tower lights up in vibrant lights, a sight not to be missed!
Sources
- https://www.macautower.com.mo
- http://www.macao.citysam.de/macau-tower.htm
- https://www.fodors.com/world/asia/china/macau/experiences/a-brief-history-of-macau-265629550