From the country’s tallest building Shanghai Tower to the iconic Kingkey 100 in Shenzhen, Chinese people have always aspired to reach greater heights. In the race to go vertical, north China has one more skyscraper that is being constructed at a rapid pace. /Tencent Photo

The Tianjin CTF Finance Center, or Tianjin Chow Tai Fook Binhai Center, capped at 530 meters on Tuesday. /Tencent Photo

The new landmark in Tianjin has a steel structure of 100 layers of irregular spiral, which makes it one of the most difficult skyscrapers to be built in China. /Tencent Photo

Besides the engineering complexity, the tower was also built at a fast pace of two layers per day, according to a constructor. /Tencent Photo

The tower is expected to complete in late 2019. With its roof in place, it is now a step closer to completion. Once finished, the 104-storey high-rise will be the world's ninth tallest building and will house a number of shopping malls, offices, apartments and hotels. /Tencent Photo