China builds world's second tallest tower

China is now home to the world's second tallest building.

Shanghai Tower, which was officially completed at the end of 2015, climbs a whopping 632 metres into the sky, making it the tallest building in the country and the second tallest in the world - behind only Dubai's Burj Khalifa (828 metres).

This means that the world now has three buildings that classify as "megatall" (above 600 metres), the third being Mecca's Makkah Royal Clock Tower (601 metres).

The completion of the building means that Chicago's iconic Willis Tower (442 metres) is now no longer in the Top 10 list of the world's tallest buildings, notes the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, after being part of the big building league for over 40 years.

Given the rapid development of urban centres around the world, the council predicts that the Willis Tower will also fall out of the world's Top 20 buildings within five years.

The tower itself is the third in a trio of skyscrapers in the heart of Shanghai’s Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone. Near to Jin Mao Tower and Shanghai World Financial Center, the building boasts a curved exterior and spiralling design, which reduces structural wind loading compared to a normal, rectangular building.