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  • CapitaLand opens 250-metre-high glass-bottom Exploration Deck at Raffles City Chongqing to eager visitors

CapitaLand opens 250-metre-high glass-bottom Exploration Deck at Raffles City Chongqing to eager visitors

Enthusiastic response to the megastructure’s star attraction yet another encouraging sign of recovery in consumer sentiment

Visitors soaking in the views of Chongqing at the glass-bottom sky deck on the opening day on 30 May 2020.

Singapore, 5 June 2020 – One of the year’s most eagerly awaited attractions in China, the 250-metre-high Exploration Deck Viewing Gallery (Exploration Deck), a star feature of The Crystal sky bridge at Raffles City Chongqing, opened to the public last weekend.  In addition to a 270-degree panorama of Chongqing’s skyline, visitors to the glass-bottom deck – the highest of its kind in Western China – are treated to the thrills of walking in “mid-air” while admiring magnificent views of Yangtze River's brown merging with Jialing River’s blue below their feet.  

As part of crowd management, only 3,000 tickets are available daily currently.  Almost all the available tickets in the opening weekend were snapped up.  The enthusiastic response to the Exploration Deck echoed the successful opening of Raffles City Chongqing’s shopping mall component, which welcomed over 900,000 shoppers during its opening weekend in September 2019.   

Visitors treated to the thrills of walking in "mid-air" at the glass-bottom sky deck.
The 250-m-high sky bridge is the world's highest sky bridge linking the most number of skyscrapers.
Raffles City Chongqing's award-winning design takes the form of powerful sail surging forward on the historic Chaotianmen site where Yangtze and Jialing rivers meet.

Mr Lucas Loh, President, China, CapitaLand Group, said: “A vertically-built riverfront urban district, Raffles City Chongqing is a megastructure that took seven years to complete and The Crystal sky bridge is its key attraction.  We are therefore heartened that the Exploration Deck, which is the first component of The Crystal sky bridge to be unveiled to the public, has been well-received.  The Exploration Deck is the first major attraction to launch in Chongqing since the lifting of the country’s nationwide lockdown and the public’s enthusiastic response is yet another encouraging sign of recovery in consumer sentiment.  As a long-term real estate player in China, CapitaLand will continue to focus on delighting consumers with attractive and quality products and services, while working with our ecosystem partners to contribute towards the country’s economic recovery.”

"The Exploration Deck is the first major attraction to launch in Chongqing since the lifting of the nationwide lockdown"

Mr Lucas Loh, President, China, CapitaLand Group

A play on optical illusion part of the immersive exhibition. (Image credit: Jordan)

The express elevator bringing visitors up and "out to space". (Video credit: Jordan)

A collaboration with National Geographic, visitors go on an exploratory journey to Mars. (Image credit: Wang Zheng Kun 王正坤)

Visitors to the Exploration Deck begin their journey at Level 1 with an exploration-themed exhibition, in collaboration with National Geographic.  The first part of the exhibition introduces the history and development of Chongqing before leading visitors to the express elevator which takes about 52 seconds to reach the top.  When the lift opens at Level 47, visitors are transported to a futuristic world that imagines life on planet Mars.  At the end of the exhibition, visitors enter a tranquil pocket park before stepping onto an open-air sky deck with see-through glass floor and exhilarating views.  

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A walkthough guide to Raffles City Chongqing's The Crystal Exploration Deck

(Video credit: Chongqing Yuzhong Media Convergence Center)

The Exploration Deck is part of The Crystal, an enclosed sky bridge that is connected to six of Raffles City Chongqing’s eight skyscrapers – four 250-metre-tall skyscrapers at its base and two adjacent skyscrapers by cantilever bridges.  This earned The Crystal the distinction as the world’s highest sky bridge linking the most number of skyscrapers.  

Video credit: Jordan

Visitors can enjoy magnificent views of the convergence of Yangtze and Jialing rivers at The Crystal. (Image credit: Jiang Ji Hang 蒋继航)

Measuring 300 metres in length, 32.5 metres in width and 26.5 metres in height with a total gross floor area of 10,000 square metres (sq m), The Crystal is also known as Raffles City Chongqing’s “horizontal skyscraper”.  Apart from the Exploration Deck, The Crystal houses The Private Club, a members-only clubhouse with two swimming pools, and a wide range of restaurants and bars at the Sky Garden.  The Sky Garden is targeted to begin operations in 3Q 2020.  

The Crystal, which houses the Exploration Deck, The Private Club and Sky Garden, is also home to close to 120 trees. (Image credit: Rock Tang)

Video credit: Jordan

Erecting The Crystal was a feat of engineering that took about a year, starting from end 2017.  The Crystal is made up of a continuous steel structure weighing 12,000 tons and enclosed with a ring comprising about 3,000 pieces of glass panels and close to 5,000 aluminium panels.  To erect efficiently, the steel structure is first divided into nine segments – four segments that are built in-situ above the four towers; three middle segments suspended between the four towers that are prefabricated on ground and hoisted into place by hydraulic strand jacks; and two cantilever segments that are assembled in short sections from the two ends of the rightmost and leftmost towers.  Hoisting the three middle steel segments of The Crystal – each weighing up to 1,100 tons – to the designated height of 250 metres marked a world first. 

The Crystal serves up a different scenery of Chongqing at dusk. (Image credit: Zhang Kun Kun 张坤琨)
In the day, visitors will be able to witness the bustling scenes of Chongqing. (Image credit: Tang An Bing 唐安冰)

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Construction of The Crystal

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Beginning of The Crystal’s hoisting process

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The last piece of The Crystal’s curtain wall being hoisted into place

Raffles City Chongqing is strategically located on Chaotianmen, a historic site overlooking the confluence of Yangtze and Jialing rivers in Yuzhong District.  It is Singapore’s and CapitaLand’s single largest development in China at RMB24 billion (S$4.8 billion).  The integrated development spans 1.12 million sq m and comprises a 235,000-sq m shopping mall, 150,000-sq m of Grade A office space, about 1,400 residential apartments, Ascott Raffles City Chongqing serviced residence and InterContinental Raffles City Chongqing hotel.  The integrated development is connected to a major transport hub comprising ferry, subway and bus stations.

Tickets to the Raffles City Chongqing’s Exploration Deck are priced at RMB180 (about S$36) each.  Visit https://www.thecrystalrccq.com for more information.

  • A visit to Raffles City Chongqing's Exploration Deck through pictures
  • Factsheet on the Crystal

    Known as Raffles City Chongqing’s crowning glory and the development’s “horizontal skyscraper”, The Crystal is an enclosed sky bridge nestled above four 250-m-tall skyscrapers and links two adjacent towers by cantilevered bridges.  Measuring 300 m in length, 32.5 m in width and 26.5 m in height, it is the world’s highest sky bridge linking the most number of towers.

    Envisaged as the centre of civic activities where locals and visitors from around the world converge in Chongqing, The Crystal houses a rich array of amenities, including a viewing gallery, lush gardens, an infinity pool and restaurants.  When darkness falls, it transforms into a giant light beam, illuminating the night sky with a pulsating light show.  To ensure the public’s year-round enjoyment of The Crystal’s facilities, design provisions such as air-conditioning, have also been catered for. 

    The Crystal is made up of a continuous steel structure weighing 12,000 tons and enclosed with a ring comprising about 3,000 pieces of glass panels and close to 5,000 aluminium panels.  To erect efficiently, the steel structure is first divided into nine segments – four segments that are built in-situ above the four towers; three middle segments suspended between the four towers that are prefabricated on ground and hoisted into place by hydraulic strand jacks; and two cantilever segments that are assembled in short sections from the two ends of the rightmost and leftmost towers.  Hoisting the three middle steel segments of The Crystal – each weighing up to 1,100 tons – to the designated height of 250 m marks a world first.

     

    Fun facts

    1)    At 300 m long, The Crystal is longer than Singapore’s tallest building laid on its side.  This is also more than three times the height of the Statue of Liberty in the United States, which measures 93 m, laid on its side.

    2)    The Crystal’s continuous steel structure weighing 12,000 tons is equivalent to the total weight of France’s Eiffel Tower.

    3)    The Crystal will be home to close to 120 trees, which will measure about 9 m in height when they have matured.

    4)    The Crystal houses two pools – a 50 m x 8 m main pool and an adjoining 10 m x 8 m children’s pool.

  • Factsheet on Raffles City Chongqing

    Location

    Chaotianmen, Yuzhong District, Chongqing, China

    (No. 8, Jiesheng Street)

    Description

    An integrated development with eight towers comprising:

    - a 73-storey residential tower;

    - a 65-storey office-and-hotel tower;

    - two 47-storey residential towers;

    - two 46-storey residential towers;

    - a 43-storey office-and-serviced residence tower;

    - a 40-storey office tower; and

    - an enclosed sky bridge, The Crystal, nestled above four of the towers and linked to two adjacent towers by cantilevered bridges. It measures 300 m in length, 32.5 m in width and 26.5 m in height.

     

    Sitting below these towers are:

    - a 5-storey shopping mall (L1 to L5) with an open-access roof garden Gateway Park;

    - a subway station, ferry terminal, bus terminal, a tourist centre; and

    - 3 levels of basement car park (B1 to B3).

    Site area

    9.2 hectares

    Construction floor area

    1.12 million sq m

    Gross floor area

    (excluding car park)

    817,000 sq m

    Number of car park spaces

    (for the entire development)

    3,200 lots

    Number of shops

    Over 400

    Developer / owner

    CapitaLand

    Estimated opening date

    Shopping mall: September 2019

    Ascott Raffles City Chongqing: September 2019

    Office tower A (T4N): 1Q 2020

    The Crystal sky bridge: 1H 2020

    InterContinental Raffles City Chongqing: 2H 2020

    Project development expenditure

    RMB24 billion (about S$4.8 billion)

    Key consultants

    Architects

    Safdie Architects

    P & T Group International Ltd

    Quantity surveyor

    Rider Levett Bucknall Limited

    Mechanical, electrical & plumbing engineer

    WSP (formerly Parsons Brinckerhoff Consultants (Pte) Ltd)

    Structural engineers

    Arup International Consultants (Shanghai) Co, Ltd.

    Commercial Consultant

    Buchan Group

    Lighting Consultant

    BPI (Branston Partnership Inc)

    Landscape Consultant

    WAA


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