Canton Tower, formerly Guangzhou TV Astronomical and Sightseeing Tower, is an observation tower in the Haizhu District of Guangzhou, historically known as Canton or Kwangchow, Guangdong, China. The tower was topped out in 2009 and it became operational on 29 September 2010 for the 2010 Asian Games. The tower briefly held the title of tallest tower in the world, replacing the CN Tower, before being surpassed by the Tokyo Skytree in 2011. It is the tallest structure in China and the fourth-tallest freestanding structure in the world. It is named after the traditional European name of the city.
