????上月底有報道稱，新的世界最高建筑將于本月在中國湖南省省會長沙動工。如果報道屬實，這個名為“天空城市”的擬建項目將有2,749英尺高，以32英尺的微弱優(yōu)勢超過現紀錄保持者迪拜塔（Burj Khalifa）。根據中國遠大集團（China's Broad Sustainable Building）網站上的介紹，借助該公司首創(chuàng)的預制拼裝建造工藝，這座220層的高樓預計將在明年1月完工。

????國際高層建筑與都市住宅協(xié)會（Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat）表示，全球十座現有最高建筑中的五座，以及全球十座在建最高建筑中的七座都位于中國大陸和香港特別行政區(qū)（the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region）。芝加哥的威利斯塔（Willis Tower）是美國唯一的一座入圍全球十座現有最高建筑的摩天大樓。紐約的新世貿中心一號樓（One World Trade Center）將于2014年竣工，屆時高度將超越威利斯塔。

????香港在全球所有城市中是無可爭議的摩天大樓冠軍，共擁有1,224座高度超過200米（656英尺）的建筑（全球建筑在線數據庫Emporis對摩天大樓的定義是高度超過200米）。位居其后的是紐約，擁有574座摩天大樓，相比之下少得可憐。有趣的是，香港的大多數建筑在修建時都采用了竹制腳手架。不得不承認，把這種中國古代建筑方法應用于現代高層建筑是個偉大的創(chuàng)舉。

????香港的高層建筑（其建筑幾乎都是高層）緊緊環(huán)繞著維多利亞灣。這片水域把這座城市的兩大商業(yè)中心——香港島和九龍分割開來。水邊的高樓閃閃發(fā)光，翠綠的山峰矗立其后，無論是白天還是夜晚，整個景色都可以輕松地超越芝加哥和紐約的天際線。香港對其令人印象深刻的城市輪廓倍感自豪。每天晚上8點鐘，45座摩天大樓都會點亮彩燈、鐳射燈和探照燈，燈光伴隨著音樂的節(jié)拍閃爍明滅，把夜空照耀得絢麗多彩。

????Last week,?news broke?that construction on the new tallest building in the world begins this month in Changsha, the capital of Hunan Province, China. If the reports bear out, the proposed Sky City will rise to a height of 2,749 feet, besting the record-holding Burj Khalifa in Dubai?by a mere 32 feet. Thanks to a prefabricated skyscraper construction technique pioneered by China's Broad Sustainable Building, the 220-floor tower is expected to be completed by January, according to the company's website.

????Five out of 10 of the world's current tallest buildings and seven out of 10 of the tallest buildings under construction are located in China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the international Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat says. (Chicago's Willis Tower is the only U.S. skyscraper on the current top-10 list; One World Trade Center in New York will surpass it in 2014, when it's set to be completed.)

????As cities go, Hong Kong is the uncontested skyscraper champ: It boasts 1,224 buildings over 200 meters (656 feet), the measure used by?Emporis, an online database of global buildings, to define skyscrapers. The runner up, New York City, has a measly 574. Fascinatingly, bamboo scaffolding is used in the construction of most of Hong Kong's buildings. The ancient Chinese practice applied to modern construction heights is a feat you have to see to believe. (Check out these stunning images?by photographer Peter Steinhauer, which depict the latticework scaffolding and the colorful tarps that wrap around the buildings.)

????Hong Kong's tall buildings--almost all its buildings--are clustered around Victoria Harbour, the body of water that separates Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, the city's two business centers. The panoramic view, with verdant hills rising behind glittering waterside towers, easily surpasses the skylines of Chicago and New York, day or night. So proud is Hong Kong of its impressive silhouette that every day at 8 p.m. sharp, 45 skyscrapers beam colored lights, lasers and searchlights, choreographed to music, into the night sky.