In the year 2000, the average height of the top 20 buildings in the world was 1,230 feet (375m) tall. In 2010, the top 20 averaged 1,440 feet (439m). By 2020, the top 20 will average 1,962 feet (598m).
This trend means we are going to be seeing more spectacular images from daredevils who enjoy taking selfies from the world’s tallest buildings. New terminology has been developed to describe these tall buildings: “super tall” is between 984.25 feet (300m) and 1,968.50 feet (600m); “megatall” buildings go even higher.
Climbing Nearly Complete Ping An Financial Center
Last week, two daredevils climbed the Ping An Financial Tower (2nd building from left, above) in Shenzen (see video below), about 60 miles north of Hong Kong. Ping An is just the latest stop for “On The Roof” creators Vitaliy Raskalov, Ukraine, and Vadim Makhorov, Russia, who we met in January 2015 when they scaled Princess Tower in Dubai.
Ping An, currently under construction, is set to become the second tallest building in the world at 2,165 feet (660 m) behind Burj Khalifa which stands 2,722 feet (829.8m). Construction is expected to be complete in 2016.
Following are some of the high places scaled by Raskalov and Makhorov:
Following is the video from the Ping An Financial Center climb:
