Yesterday I saw from my office window that a construction company was building a strange looking device just 200 meters from my office window. It looked like a ferris wheel but because it’s in the middle of a residential area I assumed it was some sort of machine used in constructing a new road or a subway line. But when opening today’s Shanghai Daily I learned that it will indeed be a ferris wheel.

The newspaper writes that from the wheel you will have a bird’s eye view over the Suzhou Creek. Really? Maybe if all buildings along the Suzhou Creek would be demolished first, but otherwise I don’t think you’ll be able to see anything except for concrete buildings. The ferris wheel will only be 42 meters high, which is only a bit taller than our 7-story office building and similar to some of the other buildings along the creek.

According to the paper the attraction was built by a new shopping mall that’s opening next to my office. Using the ferris wheel will be free (expect long waiting lines), so if you want to peek into my office bring a pair of binoculars and enjoy the ferris wheel ride. The planned opening is in about 4 weeks, on December 18, and likely the wheel will be torn down in 3 or 4 months time (land is too valuable to ‘waste’ in downtown Shanghai). The ferris wheel will be open from 10 AM to 10 PM and is located on the corner of Xizang Lu and Qufu Lu.