City Guide · Honest Height Rankings · China (country median vanity: 4.0%)
In Honest 100
12
Rank pending
0
Tallest (honest)
555.1m
Best ratio
2.3%
Shenzhen has three confirmed Honest 100 entries: Ping An Finance Centre (rank 3, 7.3% Vanity Ratio), KK100 (rank 16, 3.4%), and Hanking Center (rank 33, 10.8%). Ping An Finance Centre at 555 metres occupied is the world's third-tallest building by honest height and one of the most genuine supertalls in the Honest 100. Shenzhen built its skyline in three decades from a fishing village - the city's buildings were constructed with function in mind from inception, which partly explains the low median Vanity Ratio.
Buildings ranked by Honest Height - the elevation of the highest occupied floor. Not architectural top. Not spires. Not decorative steel nobody rides an elevator to. The gap between the two is the Vanity Ratio. See the full methodology.
Buildings in Shenzhen, drawn to scale
Each silhouette drawn to scale. Silver = the height humans actually reach. Amber = the decorative steel above it.
555m
honest
599m
“official”
+44m vanity
7.3% ratio
#3
honest
#5
“official”
Ping An Finance Centre
Shenzhen
427m
honest
442m
“official”
+15m vanity
3.4% ratio
#18
honest
#27
“official”
KK100
Shenzhen
379m
honest
388m
“official”
+9m vanity
2.3% ratio
#34
honest
#51
“official”
Shum Yip Upperhills Tower 1
Shenzhen
373m
honest
388m
“official”
+15m vanity
3.9% ratio
#43
honest
#50
“official”
Citymark Centre
Shenzhen
372m
honest
393m
“official”
+21m vanity
5.3% ratio
#44
honest
#46
“official”
China Merchants Bank Global HQ
Shenzhen
345m
honest
393m
“official”
+48m vanity
12.1% ratio
#62
honest
#48
“official”
China Resources Tower
Shenzhen
345m
honest
359m
“official”
+14m vanity
4.0% ratio
#64
honest
#77
“official”
Huiyun Center
Shenzhen
342m
honest
356m
“official”
+14m vanity
4.0% ratio
#68
honest
#82
“official”
Galaxy World Tower 1
Shenzhen
342m
honest
356m
“official”
+14m vanity
4.0% ratio
#69
honest
#83
“official”
Galaxy World Tower 2
Shenzhen
320m
honest
359m
“official”
+39m vanity
10.8% ratio
#77
honest
#78
“official”
Hanking Center
Shenzhen
307m
honest
376m
“official”
+69m vanity
18.3% ratio
#83
honest
#62
“official”
Dabaihui Plaza
Shenzhen
298m
honest
384m
“official”
+86m vanity
22.4% ratio
#88
honest
#54
“official”
Shun Hing Square
Shenzhen
Top 5 in Shenzhen · Confirmed occupied height
3
Ping An Finance Centre
Shenzhen · CN
Vanity
7.3%
18
KK100
Shenzhen · CN
Vanity
3.4%
34
Shum Yip Upperhills Tower 1
Shenzhen · CN
Vanity
2.3%
43
Citymark Centre
Shenzhen · CN
Vanity
3.9%
44
China Merchants Bank Global HQ
Shenzhen · CN
Vanity
5.3%
Ranks 6-12 in Shenzhen
China Resources Tower
Shenzhen · CN
345m
12.1% vanity
Huiyun Center
Shenzhen · CN
344.8m
4.0% vanity
Galaxy World Tower 1
Shenzhen · CN
341.8m
4.0% vanity
Galaxy World Tower 2
Shenzhen · CN
341.8m
4.0% vanity
Hanking Center
Shenzhen · CN
320m
10.8% vanity
Dabaihui Plaza
Shenzhen · CN
306.9m
18.3% vanity
Shun Hing Square
Shenzhen · CN
298m
22.4% vanity
The standard global ranking uses architectural top - the highest structural element regardless of whether anyone reaches it. The Honest Height ranking uses the highest occupied floor. For Shenzhen, the delta between the two metrics is tracked as the Vanity Ratio for each building.
Tallest by honest height: Ping An Finance Centre - 555.1m occupied
Tallest by architectural top: Ping An Finance Centre - 599.1m
See: The full Honest 100 · Methodology
Ping An Finance Centre is 555 metres occupied, 599 metres to the spire - a 7.3% Vanity Ratio for the third-tallest building in the world by honest height. It is in the same building category as Willis Tower and the Shanghai World Financial Center: towers that were primarily designed to contain offices, not to claim a number. The spire is there. It is just proportionate.