After a 10-Year Hiatus, This Skyscraper Is Finally Being Completed
From the World’s Tallest Unfinished Building to the 5th Tallest Building in the World!
In China, construction usually moves fast, but sometimes it doesn’t—and when it doesn’t, it really doesn’t!
However, this year, the Chinese central government launched a new revitalization policy for existing assets, focusing on investing in unfinished or abandoned structures to bring them back to life.
The Tianjin 117 Tower is one of the beneficiaries of this policy. Left unfinished for over a decade, the world’s 5th tallest building is finally set to be completed in 2027! And since construction began before China’s 2020 ban on supertall skyscrapers, it will also be China’s last 500+ meter tall skyscraper for the foreseeable future.
天津117大厦被视为“内地摩天楼泡沫”的缩影，天津117大厦早于2008年动工，正值内地投资超高摩天大厦的热潮，当今中国第一高楼“上海中心大厦”，亦于同年起造。
天津117大厦非位于核心商业区，早于2015年中国地产市道轻微放慢时，大厦在完成结构封顶时已停工。
天津117大厦原定发展高度597米，在兴建时目标成为中国第一高楼、全球第二高楼。
然而，高银地产因资金链断裂、陷入财困，被法院裁定破产清算，而天津117大厦也被清算人接管，最终在当地政府以“法治化、市场化”的原则推动盘活，由中建三局等单位接手工程，实现复工。
摩天楼 (mó tiān lóu): Skyscraper
泡沫 (pào mò): Bubble (economic, figurative)
缩影 (suō yǐng): Microcosm, epitome
热潮 (rè cháo): Frenzy, boom, surge
结构封顶 (jié gòu fēng dǐng): Structural topping-out (completion of a building's framework)
资金链断裂 (zī jīn liàn duàn liè): Break in the capital chain, financial collapse
破产清算 (pò chǎn qīng suàn): Bankruptcy liquidation
盘活 (pán huó): Revitalization, recovery
The Tianjin 117 Tower is regarded as a symbol of China's "skyscraper bubble." Construction began in 2008, during a boom in skyscraper investment across China. The country's tallest building, the Shanghai Tower, also began construction that same year.
However, located outside Tianjin's core commercial district, the Tianjin 117 Tower halted construction in 2015 after its structural topping-out, coinciding with a slight slowdown in China's real estate market.
Initially planned to reach a height of 597 meters, the Tianjin 117 Tower was designed to be China's tallest building and the second tallest in the world.
Due to a broken funding chain and financial struggles, Goldin Properties went into bankruptcy liquidation. The project was taken over by liquidators and eventually resumed under local government leadership, following "legal and market-driven principles." The project has now been handed over to entities such as China Construction Third Engineering Bureau for completion.
报道称，上述超高层项目多源于2010年前后的“摩天楼竞赛”，当时许多地方政府为打造城市地标，以低地价吸引开发商取地兴建摩天楼，但在2020年，住建部出台“限高令”，严禁开发商兴建500米以上建筑，“摩天楼竞赛”明显降温，再加上房地产踏入下行周期，部分明星摩天楼沦为“烂尾楼”。
报道形容，多地超高层建筑复工，是中央“盘活存量”政策的推动，而2025年政府工作报告明确要求“合理控制新增用地，盘活商办用房”。中国企业资本联盟首席经济学家柏文喜指出，作为城市重要的存量资产，超高层项目的重启，有助于优化城市空间结构、提升资源利用效率。
地标 (dì biāo): Landmark
住建部 (zhù jiàn bù): Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development
出台 (chū tái): To issue (a policy, regulation, etc.)
房地产 (fáng dì chǎn): Real estate
烂尾楼 (làn wěi lóu): Unfinished building (literally "rotten-tail building," referring to abandoned or incomplete construction projects)
The report notes that many of these ultra-high-rise projects stemmed from the "skyscraper race" around 2010, during which local governments sought to create city landmarks by offering low land prices to developers for skyscraper construction. However, in 2020, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development issued a "height restriction policy," banning buildings over 500 meters tall. This significantly cooled the skyscraper competition, and coupled with a downturn in the real estate market, some high-profile skyscrapers were abandoned mid-construction.
The resurgence of these projects is attributed to the central government's policy to "revitalize existing assets." The 2025 government work report explicitly calls for "reasonable control of new land use and revitalization of commercial office space." According to Bai Wenxi, chief economist of the China Enterprise Capital Alliance, restarting ultra-high-rise projects, as critical city assets, can help optimize urban space structure and enhance resource utilization efficiency.
Top 10 tallest buildings in China
China is home to the highest number of supertall skyscrapers (those taller than 300 meters) in the world, with over 40% of all supertall skyscrapers located in China.
Here are the current top 10 tallest skyscrapers in China. Once the Tianjin 117 Tower is completed, it will claim the spot as China’s third tallest building.
632 m (2,073 ft) | 上海中心大厦 (Shànghǎi zhōngxīn dàshà): Shanghai Tower - 上海 (Shanghai)
599.1 m (1,966 ft) | 平安国际金融中心 (Píng'ān guó jì jīnróng zhōngxīn): Ping An International Finance Centre - 深圳 (Shenzhen)
530.4 m (1,740 ft) | 天津周大福滨海中心 (Tiānjīn zhōu dà fú bīn hǎi zhōngxīn): Tianjin CTF Finance Centre - 天津 (Tianjin)
530 m (1,739 ft) | 广州周大福金融中心 (Guǎngzhōu zhōu dà fú jīnróng zhōngxīn): Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre - 广州 (Guangzhou)
527.7 m (1,731 ft) | 中国尊 (Zhōngguó zūn): China Zun - 北京 (Beijing)
494.3 m (1,622 ft) | 上海环球金融中心 (Shànghǎi huánqiú jīnróng zhōngxīn): Shanghai World Financial Center - 上海 (Shanghai)
484 m (1,588 ft) | 环球贸易广场 (Huánqiú màoyì guǎngchǎng): International Commerce Centre - 香港 (Hong Kong)
476 m (1,562 ft) | 武汉绿地中心 (Wǔhàn lǜdì zhōngxīn): Wuhan Greenland Center - 武汉 (Wuhan)
452.1 m (1,483 ft) | 长沙国际金融中心1 (Chángshā guó jì jīnróng zhōngxīn T1): Changsha IFS Tower T1 - 长沙 (Changsha)
450 m (1,476 ft) | 苏州国际金融中心 (Sūzhōu guó jì jīnróng zhōngxīn): Suzhou IFS - 苏州 (Suzhou)
What do you think of supertall skyscrapers? Are they symbols of innovation and modernity, or are they just too much?
Antoine & Dorota
