The Canton Tower or Guangzhou Tower (simplified Chinese: 广州塔; traditional Chinese: 廣州塔; Cantonese Yale: Gwóngjāu Taap), formally Guangzhou TV Astronomical and Sightseeing Tower (simplified Chinese: 广州电视台天文及观光塔; traditional Chinese: 廣州電視台天文及觀光塔; Cantonese Yale: Gwóngjāu dihnsihtòih tīnmán gahp gūngwōng taap), is a 604 metres (1,982 ft) tall multi-purpose observation tower in the Haizhu District of the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton), in Guangdong, China.[6][14][15] The tower was topped out in 2009 and it became operational on 29 September 2010 for the 2010 Asian Games.[16] The tower briefly held the title of tallest tower in the world, replacing the CN Tower, before being surpassed by the Tokyo Skytree.[17] It was the tallest structure in China prior to the topping out of Shanghai Tower on 3 August 2013. It is now the second tallest tower and the fourth-tallest freestanding structure in the world.
