3. World Financial Center, Shanghai (1,614 ft.)

The 101-story World Financial Center in the Pudong financial district in Shanghai, June 28, 2011.

China's construction boom and appetite for bold buildings have given a host of architects the chance to push design boundaries, and other fast-developing Asian nations have followed suit.

Nine of the top 15 tallest buildings in the world today have been completed within the past 15 years - and seven of those new skyscrapers are in Asia.

Credit: PHILIPPE LOPEZ/AFP/Getty Images