Macau Tower ' onMouseout='HidePop("67375")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Portuguese_language">Portuguese
Portuguese is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia and northern Portugal. It is derived from the Latin spoken by the romanized Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula around 2000 years ago...
: Torre Panorâmica), also known as
Macau Sky Tower, is a
towerTowers are tall structures that are almost always taller than they are wide, usually by a significant margin. Towers are generally built to take advantage of their height, and can stand alone or as part of a larger structure.- History :...
located in the former
PortuguesePortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...
colonyThe Portuguese Empire was the first global empire in history, with territories in South America, Africa, India and South East Asia...
of
MacauThe Macau Special Administrative Region , commonly known as Macau or Macao , is one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China, the other being Hong Kong...
, now a
Special Administrative RegionA special administrative region, or SAR may be:People's Republic of China* Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, self-governing subnational entity in Hong Kong and Macau...
of the
People's Republic of ChinaThe People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the most populous in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately one-fifth of the world's population...
.
Macau Tower ' onMouseout='HidePop("67375")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Portuguese_language">Portuguese
Portuguese is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia and northern Portugal. It is derived from the Latin spoken by the romanized Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula around 2000 years ago...
: Torre Panorâmica), also known as
Macau Sky Tower, is a
towerTowers are tall structures that are almost always taller than they are wide, usually by a significant margin. Towers are generally built to take advantage of their height, and can stand alone or as part of a larger structure.- History :...
located in the former
PortuguesePortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...
colonyThe Portuguese Empire was the first global empire in history, with territories in South America, Africa, India and South East Asia...
of
MacauThe Macau Special Administrative Region , commonly known as Macau or Macao , is one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China, the other being Hong Kong...
, now a
Special Administrative RegionA special administrative region, or SAR may be:People's Republic of China* Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, self-governing subnational entity in Hong Kong and Macau...
of the
People's Republic of ChinaThe People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the most populous in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately one-fifth of the world's population...
. The tower measures 338 m (1,109 ft) in height from ground level to the highest point. An observation deck with panoramic views, restaurants, theaters, shopping malls and the Skywalk X, a thrilling walking tour around the outer rim. It offers the best view of Macau and in recent years has been used for a variety of adventurous activities. At 233 meters, the Macau Tower's tethered "skyjump" and Bungee jump by world renowned
AJ HackettAlan John "A. J." Hackett is a New Zealand entrepreneur who popularised the extreme sport of bungee jumping.-Early life:Hackett grew up on Auckland's North Shore. He attended Westlake Boys High School, but left at the age of sixteen, and served an apprenticeship as a carpenter. At this time, he...
http://s181386383.websitehome.co.uk/intl/macau/index.htm from the tower's outer rim, is the highest in the world. The tower was created by the architecture firm of Craig Craig Moller.
The tower is one of the members of the
World Federation of Great TowersThe World Federation of Great Towers is an association of tall towers and skyscrapers from around the world. It was created in 1989...
. Besides being used for observation and entertainment, the
towerRadio masts and towers are, typically, tall structures designed to support antennas for telecommunications and broadcasting, including television. They are among the tallest man-made structures...
is also used for
telecommunicationTelecommunication is transmission over a distance for the purpose of communication. In earlier times, this may have involved the use of smoke signals, drums, semaphore, flags or heliograph. In modern times, telecommunication typically involves the use of electronic devices such as the telephone,...
s and
broadcastingBroadcasting is the distribution of audio and/or video signals which transmit programs to an audience. The audience may be the general public or a relatively large sub-audience, such as children or young adults....
.
History
On a visit to
AucklandThe Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with a population approaching 1.4 million residents, percent of the country's population. Demographic trends indicate that it will continue to grow faster than the rest...
,
New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori named New Zealand Aotearoa, commonly translated as The Land of the Long White Cloud...
, Macau casino billionaire
Stanley Ho Hung-SunStanley Ho, OBE, GBS, GLM , also known as Ho Hung-sun, Stanley Ho Hung-sun , is an entrepreneur in Hong Kong and Macau. Ho is sometimes nicknamed "The King of Gambling", reflecting the government-granted monopoly he held of the Macau gambling industry for 40 years.Ho is the wealthiest person in...
was so impressed by the
Sky TowerThe Sky Tower is an observation and telecommunications tower located on the corner of Victoria and Federal Streets in the Auckland CBD, Auckland City, New Zealand. It is tall, as measured from ground level to the top of the mast, making it the tallest free-standing structure in the Southern...
in Auckland that he commissioned a similar one to be built in Macau. The tower was designed by New Zealand engineering firm
Beca GroupBeca Group Ltd. is one of the largest employee-owned engineering and related consultancy services companies in the Asia-Pacific. Its headquarters is in Auckland, Beca operates from three main “hubs” – Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. Beca has over 2,500 employees in total , many of them...
and Gordon Moller of Craig Craig Moller architects for Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau, SARL. Construction work of the tower started in 1998, and the tower was officially opened on December 19, 2001.
Events
On December 17, 2006, the father of contemporary
bungee jumpingBungee jumping is an activity that involves jumping from a tall structure while connected to a large elastic cord. The tall structure is usually a fixed object, such as a building, bridge or crane; but it is also possible to jump from a movable object, such as a hot-air-balloon or helicopter,...
,
A J HackettAlan John "A. J." Hackett is a New Zealand entrepreneur who popularised the extreme sport of bungee jumping.-Early life:Hackett grew up on Auckland's North Shore. He attended Westlake Boys High School, but left at the age of sixteen, and served an apprenticeship as a carpenter. At this time, he...
, and popular artist
Edison ChenEdison Koon-Hei Chen is a Hong Kong-based Chinese Canadian film actor, rapper, Cantopop singer, model, record producer, fashion designer, and a pop icon. Chen is also the founder of CLOT Inc., and the CEO of Clot Media Division Limited...
broke two Guinness World Records at the Macau Tower. A J Hackett, broke his own Guinness World Record of "The Highest Bungee Jump from a Building" achieved in 1987 from the
Eiffel TowerThe Eiffel Tower is a 19th century iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris that has become both a global icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world. The Eiffel Tower, which is the tallest building in Paris, is the single most visited paid monument in...
. Edison Chen represented Macau Tower in the inaugural jump to bid for "The World's Highest Bungee Jump Facility".
In popular culture
It was used as a
roadblockA roadblock is a temporary installation set up to control or block traffic along a road. The reasons for one could be:*Roadworks*Temporary road closure during special events*Police chase*Robbery*Sobriety checkpoint...
in an episode of
The Amazing Race: All-Stars that originally aired on April 22, 2007 on
CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is an American television network, one of television's original "big three", which also include NBC and ABC. Like NBC, CBS started out as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System...
. The tower also appeared in two episodes of
The Amazing Race Asia 3The Amazing Race Asia 3 is the third installment of the reality television game show The Amazing Race Asia. The show features ten teams of two, with a pre-existing relationship, in a race around Asia to win US$100,000....
.
Jack OsbourneJack Joseph Osbourne is an English television personality, known as the son of musician Ozzy Osbourne and music manager Sharon Osbourne, and brother of Aimee and Kelly Osbourne.-Early life and family:...
has bungee-jumped off the tower as well, as part of the third series of
Jack Osbourne: Adrenaline JunkieJack Osbourne: Adrenaline Junkie is a British reality Television series on ITV2, series 1 focused on Jack Osbourne's globe-trekking six-month quest to get in physical and mental shape to climb the rockface of California's El Capitan mountain, the show documents Osbourne running with the bulls in...
.
See also
- List of towers
- List of tallest freestanding structures in the world
- Sky Tower
The Sky Tower is an observation and telecommunications tower located on the corner of Victoria and Federal Streets in the Auckland CBD, Auckland City, New Zealand. It is tall, as measured from ground level to the top of the mast, making it the tallest free-standing structure in the Southern...
, the tower which Macau Tower was based on.
External links