The orient Pearl TV Tower is situated at the tip of Lujiazui, New District, Pudong beside the Huangpu River, the highest tower in Asia with its height being 468m. It started construction in 1992, and with 50 million Yuan in government funds and a combined 150 million Renminbi Yuan and 10 million US Dollars in bank loans from 44 banks, completed construction and opened to the public in 1994.
    Its unique shape is formed by 11 balls, which have different sizes and are arranged esthetically. The balls drop to the grass in series from the blue sky, symbolizing “big and small pearls fall into a jade plate”. It consists of three enormous columns with their diameter being 9m, outer space cabin, upper sphere, lower sphere, five small balls, a tower base, and a square. With a 45m-diameter sight-seeing floor, the upper sphere, which is 263m high, is the best place to have a bird's-eye view of the whole of Shanghai. It has become a landmark of Shanghai City in the 21st entury, integrating sightseeing, conference, exhibition, food, shopping, entertainment, lodging, and broadcast and television transmission.
    Over the past years, the tower has received 295 overseas presidents and leaders and 25 million tourists. It has become the world's most profitable TV tower, with annual incomes exceeding those of The Eiffel Tower. With a brand value of 5.148 billion Yuan(US$6.2 billion), the tower was evaluated 96th on the list of the 500 most valuable Chinese brands, and one of the top 20 influential Chinese brands in the world for the year 2003 and 2004, according to the World Brand Lab.