Shanghai World Financial Center, the biggest skyscraper in Chinese mainland and the third-tallest in the world after Burj Dubai and Taipei 101, was officially inaugurated on Thursday.

The 492-meter-high building is in the Lujiazui area of Pudong District, the "Wall Street of China," overlooking the Huangpu River. It covers an area of 381,600 square meters. It has 101 floors above ground and three floors underground, according to its builder, the Shanghai Construction Group.

The first two floors are commercial with the third to fifth floors for conference centers. The seventh to 77th floors will house offices. The 79th to 93rd floors will be the Park Hyatt Shanghai hotel, which is expected to test run on Monday.

The 94th to 100th floors are an observatory for sightseeing and will be open to tourists on Saturday. The observatory on the 100thfloor at 474 meters above ground is the tallest of its kind in the world.

It is expected to receive 3 million tourists annually. The admission price ranges from 110 yuan (16 U.S dollars) to 150 yuan.

The construction of the skyscraper began in 1997 but was suspended amid the southeast Asian financial crisis. The construction resumed in 2003.

"Few people thought Pudong would be a financial center when we decided to invest here," said Minoru Mori, the founder of Mori Building, the skyscraper's investor. "The successful launching of the Shanghai World Financial Center proved Shanghai would be definitely a top commercial city in Asia."

(Xinhua News Agency August 28, 2008)