Shanghai Oriental Pearl Tower

Poised along the Huangpu River like a sci-fi rocket ship ready to launch, the Oriental Pearl Tower (Oriental Pearl Radio & TV Tower) is arguably the most distinctive part of Shanghai's Lujiazui skyline.

The 468-meter-tall television tower comprises 11 spheres of various size skewered onto three nine-meter-wide columns. At night the structure flashes and glows with multicolored LED lights, which has turned to be an iconic image presenting Lujiazui to the world.

Construction of the Oriental Pearl Tower began in 1990 and was completed in 1994. It remained the tallest structure in China until the completion of the Shanghai World Financial Center in 2007.

Today the panoramic views from its observation decks of the top two spheres and its rotating restaurant make it a popular stop on the tour group circuit.

In the basement of the tower is the Shanghai Municipal History Museum. Here you'll find a collection of artifacts from the city's past. The collection features about 30,000 items -- half of them from the city's modern history, the rest unearthed from before its days as a treaty port.