85 Sky Tower

Close to Ports of Kaohsiung and Xinguang Ferry Wharf, 85 Sky Tower was once the tallest skyscraper in Taiwan, now (2015) ranked 41 in the world. The skyscraper is famous for the special design of its appearance. Starting with two separate buildings, the towering skyscraper incorporates into one since the 35th floor to the 85th floor, thus leaving a space beneath the central building. The skyscraper looks like the Chinese character "Kao, 高", perfectly representing Kaohsiung—where it is erected. The design derived from Chinese culture and characters readily reminds people of other well-known buildings: Taipei 101, designed with the image of stacking gold ingots; Tainan Chinatown, a Chinese-style shopping and apartment complex yet soon to be demolished; the Fang Yuan Building in Shenyang, China, shape of which resembles a coin. All these are the brainchildren of architect C. Y. Lee. Originally, 85 Sky Tower is mainly designed to be an office building as well as a department store. Yet for some reasons, today it functions as a hotel and daily rental apartments. That explains why a host of luggage-dragging foreign tourists will stay in the affordable rooms on high floors, enjoying the night scene in Kaohsiung.