The China Central Television (CCTV) Tower is the tallest structure in Beijing

Beijing

Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

, China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

. It has an observation deck at 238 metres (780.8 ft), and the tip of its antenna reaches a height of 405 metres (1,328.7 ft). It provides panoramic views over the city from its restaurant and observation deck. It is a member of the World Federation of Great Towers. It also rotates.

The tower was built in 1992, and contains broadcasting equipment for China Central Television

China Central Television

China Central Television or Chinese Central Television, commonly abbreviated as CCTV, is the major state television broadcaster in mainland China. CCTV has a network of 19 channels broadcasting different programmes and is accessible to more than one billion viewers...

. It is located in Beijing's Haidian District, near to the Gongzhufen

Gongzhufen

Gongzhufen is a major traffic and public transportation hub in the Haidian District of western Beijing, China. The name literally means "Tomb of the Princess"....

 metro station and Yuyuantan Park. It was superseded by new headquarters in Chaoyang District

Chaoyang District, Beijing

Chaoyang District is a district of Beijing, China.Chaoyang is home to the majority of Beijing's many foreign embassies, the well-known Sanlitun bar street, as well as Beijing's growing CBD. The Olympic Park, built for the 2008 Summer Olympics, is also in Chaoyang...

, designed by Rem Koolhaas

Rem Koolhaas

Remment Lucas Koolhaas is a Dutch architect, architectural theorist, urbanist and "Professor in Practice of Architecture and Urban Design" at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University, USA. Koolhaas studied at the Netherlands Film and Television Academy in Amsterdam, at the Architectural...

 in late 2009.

A race to the top of the tower is held annually, with two laps of the base followed by a climb of the 1484 steps leading up to the observation deck.

See also

• CCTV Headquarters
  CCTV Headquarters
  The CCTV Headquarters is a , 44-storey skyscraper in the Beijing Central Business District and serves as headquarters for China Central Television . Groundbreaking took place on 1 June 2004 and the building's facade was completed in 1 January 2008...
  
   (another building that is sometimes also called "CCTV Tower")
• List of towers
• List of tallest freestanding structures in the world

External links

• Central TV Tower Tourist Website: http://en.ctvt.com.cn/
• http://www.skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?b264