It’s a tale of two cities, surviving both the best of times and, lately, the worst of times.  For the past decade, the Middle Eastern city of Dubai has been architecture’s hottest of hot spots, boasting not only the tallest building on the planet (due to be completed soon), but an even taller building set to begin construction in the near future.  It boasts more seven-star hotels (remember when five-star was as good as it got?) than any other city.  It reigns as a living, breathing monument to conspicuous consumption, with giant malls, giant hotels, giant everything.  Until the economic crash.  Suddenly, property prices are slumping, and there is suddenly an end in sight to what seemed like an endless expansion. 

However, hundreds of miles to the East, in China, the boom in Shanghai keeps on booming.  In fact, construction has just begun on what will be the tallest building in China, the 632-meter Shanghai Center.   When it is completed in 2014, it will top China’s second and third tallest buildings, which are also located in Shanghai, by well over 100 metres.  The total cost of this ambitious project is expected to be 14.8 billion yuan, which translates into 2.2 American dollars.   Proving that, for one city at least, the best of times may continue for awhile longer.