Shanghai Tower belongs to the Common Era — dated here to c. 2015 CE at Shanghai, China. Dates mark a scholarly centre of gravity (dedication, completion, or iconic phase), not a single foundation day.
A twisting 632-metre tower — double-skin façade and stacked sky lobbies like vertical neighborhoods.
How it amazes the brain
120-degree twist reduces wind loads. The world’s second-tallest building at completion.
Why it counts as a wonder
It never needed a contest ballot to scramble the brain: scale, craft, or sheer improbability is enough.
A corkscrew of glass that makes wind an ally.
On dating
CE means years after the traditional birth of Christ. A monument listed as c. 2015 CE may have been founded earlier, rebuilt later, or become famous only in one phase. Engineering wonders (dams, tunnels, orbiting labs) are dated to opening or assembly.
This is story 85 of 100 in The Trend Ledger’s illustrated desk on world wonders raised after the birth of Christ — the companions to our BCE series.