Categories
in taiwan

the tuned mass damper

usually when we visit a place, there’s one thing people say you “must” do — and in taipei, that is probably climbing the taipei 101 and seeing the city from high above. more than the views though, the big skyscraper has one interesting feature that i really wanted to see: the tuned mass damper! brady from practical engineering explains how it works, on this funny old video:

the thing is just a huge, super heavy pendulum that absorbs the building’s movements to counter the oscillation from winds or the ground motion. there’s plenty of movies on youtube of it swinging during typhoons or earthquakes — including during the 2008 sichuan earthquake we felt in shanghai. 

i think it’s brilliant that they gave it a spotlight and turned into a feature that everyone can visit — hurray for making engineering visible! i often think of how many things like this exist, and how we’re not even aware of them, and of all the work and science that is involved in big and small things. 

oh, and i guess the views from up there are not bad either! :D

Categories
in china in shanghai

lupu bridge – sunday field trip

this has been on our to-do list for far too long. after yesterday’s rain, today the day seemed quite clear, we could see well into pudong from our balcony, so we decided to take the chance and venture to climb the lupu bridge. besides, the bus number 36 starts right outside our house and stops exactly on the base of the bridge. how’s that for convenience?

final destination!

the entrance to the bridge will set you back 68 rmb, and you’ll be guided around by the young people who serve as staff here. they send you to an elevator to the bridge platform, and after that… stairs. lots of them, since this is the longest arch bridge in the world, according to wikipedia.

lupu bridge

along the way, you’ll notice the construction frenzy on both sides of the river. expo 2010 is coming, and you can already see the china pavilion taking shape!

expo 2010 construction

the expo 2010 site

once you’re up on top… wow! you get a 360 degree view of the city that is just breathtaking. all the buildings in the distance, the sand carrier ships, the cranes, the cars speeding under your feet, and the crazy wind… it’s all worth it.

little green riding hood

north side


a cool field trip for a lazy sunday! will definitely climb it again in 2010, when (if) we return to shanghai for the expo, to see how the city has changed in the meantime.